Chapter 96
Elizabeth
The drive back to the mansion was quieter than usual.
Not uncomfortable.
Just… different.
Damon had stopped laughing, but the faint amusement hadn’t completely left his face.
I kept staring out the window anyway.
Because if I looked at him too long, I was going to start overthinking everything that had just happened at school.
Nick.
The invitation.
Damon’s reaction—or lack of one.
And worst of all… the fact that I’d actually enjoyed seeing him there.
I shifted in my seat.
“This is your fault,” I said finally.
Damon didn’t even glance over.
“My fault.”
“Yes.”
A pause.
Then—
“For what?”
I hesitated.
Because explaining it out loud made it worse.
“You know.”
“I don’t.”
I turned to him.
He was still focused on the road, calm as ever.
Annoyingly calm.
“You standing there like… like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like you were watching me.”
That earned me a brief look.
Not teasing.
Not amused.
Just direct.
“I was.”
My stomach did that ridiculous thing again.
“I noticed.”
Silence.
The city passed outside in blurred motion.
Finally I said, quieter, “You didn’t have to.”
Damon’s voice was calm.
“I did.”
That was all he said.
And somehow it made everything feel heavier.
I looked away again quickly.
“Right.”
The mansion came into view a few minutes later.
Old iron gates.
Tall stone walls.
The kind of place that looked like it had secrets even when nothing supernatural was happening—which, unfortunately, it always was.
Damon parked.
Neither of us moved for a second.
Then he spoke.
“You’re thinking too much.”
I let out a small breath.
“I always am.”
“Stop.”
I almost laughed.
“That’s not helpful advice.”
“It’s still true.”
I shook my head, grabbing my bag.
“Goodnight, Damon.”
His gaze flicked to me.
“Night.”
I got out before my brain could complicate things further.
Inside the mansion, everything felt unusually still.
Too still.
The kind of stillness that made me suspicious instead of relieved.
I passed through the entrance hall, expecting at least Lucien to appear out of nowhere and say something ridiculous.
Nothing.
Kitchen—empty.
Library—quiet.
Hallways—silent.
I frowned.
“Okay… this is creepy.”
No response.
Even the house felt like it was holding its breath.
I made my way upstairs.
Halfway down the corridor, I stopped.
Something felt off.
Not dangerous exactly.
Just… present.
Like I wasn’t alone.
I turned slowly.
Nothing.
Of course.
“Great,” I muttered. “Now I’m imagining things.”
I continued walking.
Then—
A sound.
Soft.
Behind me.
I turned again.
Still nothing.
I took another step forward.
Then the symbol on my hand pulsed.
Not burning.
Not painful.
Just a sharp, sudden awareness.
I froze.
“Okay,” I whispered. “That’s not imagination.”
The hallway lights flickered.
Once.
Twice.
The air shifted.
And then—
A voice.
Not loud.
Not coming from anywhere specific.
Just… there.
“Elizabeth.”
My breath caught.
I spun fully now.
“Who’s there?”
Silence.
Then the voice again.
Closer this time.
“You are closer than before.”
My skin went cold.
The mansion felt different now.
Not empty.
Not silent.
Occupied.
Somewhere between the walls.
Between the spaces.
I took a slow step back.
“Damon?” I called quietly.
No answer.
Of course not.
That would’ve been too easy.
The mark on my hand glowed faintly beneath my skin.
Gold light spread through my fingers.
The hallway stretched longer than it should have.
The air grew heavier.
And suddenly I wasn’t sure I was still in the mansion at all.
The walls darkened.
The wood shifted into stone.
The air turned damp.
Cold.
Ancient.
My heartbeat sped up.
“No,” I whispered. “No, no—”
A corridor formed around me.
Not new.
Not built.
Remembered.
The Temple.
Except I wasn’t at the Temple.
I was somewhere connected to it.
Something like it.
The walls were covered in thorn-like carvings.
Black stone veins running through the surface.
The deeper I looked, the more it felt like the structure was breathing.
And then I saw it.
The red door.
Not fully formed.
Not fully open.
Just… there.
Waiting.
My breath shook.
“This isn’t real,” I said quietly.
But it felt real.
Too real.
The voice returned.
Calm.
Certain.
“You saw us today.”
My pulse pounded.
“No. I didn’t—”
“Yes.”
A pause.
Then—
“You brought him closer.”
My throat tightened.
“Him?”
The air shifted again.
The red door trembled slightly.
And suddenly I understood something I didn’t want to understand.
This wasn’t just about me.
Or the Key.
Or the prison.
Something else was watching.
Something was paying attention to Damon too.
The thought made my stomach twist.
“I don’t know what you want,” I whispered.
The voice softened.
Almost amused.
“We already have what we want.”
The corridor began to dissolve.
Stone fading into darkness.
The red door lingering last.
Watching.
And just before everything vanished—
I heard it.
A final whisper.
“He is not what you think.”
Then—
Reality snapped back.
I stumbled forward in the hallway of the mansion, gasping.
My hand burned briefly before fading.
The lights steadied.
The walls were normal again.
Wood.
Stone.
Home.
I pressed a hand against my chest, breathing hard.
“What… was that?”
Silence answered me.
But now I knew something for certain.
Whatever was behind the prison—
It wasn’t only interested in me anymore.
It was watching him too.
And that made everything worse.
Far worse.
Because Damon had no idea.
And for the first time since this all began—
I wasn’t sure I should tell him.