Chapter 51: .•20.3•.

She couldn't understand what was going on. Why he'd told her all that whilst touching her in such a manner. And she couldn't understand her reaction either. Why was she not rejecting him, even after all that he did to her? Why was her body still yearning for him so much? It didn't make any sense! She should be repulsed by his touch, not drawn to it! She should be scared and screaming her lungs out, not moaning out like she was right now and lusting for his kisses and hands on her body! This was insane! And yet she didn't feel powerful enough to stop it.

She felt so weak. Shackled and at his mercy. Doomed to take whatever he gave to her. Pain. Pleasure. All of it.

She mewled again, her back arching up against that wall as he continued to ground into her. Building up that wave that threatened to wash over her. Her legs shook, that dizziness hitting her so hard. The air was barely entering her nostrils now, but she didn't seem to care too much. Her vision gradually darkened until she could barely see him at all. Tears prickling at the corners of her eyes. But she obediently received whatever he gave, every thrust and every huff of his breath until that dam finally broke and she came with a strangled cry, drenching her shorts and panties. Hearing him growl out so angrily as he jerked against her, mere moments before her body hit the ground with a dull thud.

She could barely feel the pain now. There was a hissing sound ringing into her ears, drowning out everything else around her. She couldn't see. Her vision had darkened completely. Barely feeling that hardwooden floor beneath her tortured body. She desperately gasped for air between coughs, trying to get as much as she could into her lungs. It didn't work. Her grip on the world around her quickly fell away between her fingers like grains of sand.

.••.

There was a gentle and cool sensation on her skin as something continued to touch her, stirring her awake. It traced over and over again against her cheek, making her moan out a little with displeasure. She was so comfortable there. Wherever that was. It was nice and soft. And warm. And it smelled so incredibly good. She did not want to wake. Not yet.

But that touch kept persisting. Caressing her cheek like a loving parent.

Her eyelids fluttered open, not seeing much at first. It was still dark outside. The room faintly illuminated by those dying embers in the hearth.

She blinked and looked around, firstly noticing that she was lying in a bed. A bed that definitely wasn't hers.

Nicholas.

She quickly sat up straighter, looking around the darkened room. There was no sign of him. No trace of him there. However, she was lying in his bed. Nicely tucked underneath the covers.

"You're so beautiful..." she suddenly jolted so violently at the sound of that distorted and echoing voice, her gaze fearfully darting around until she finally noticed that translucent silhouette floating close by the bed.

Her eyes widened, those tiny hairs on her body raising up with alarm as she stared at the ghost, watching it float closer.

It was the silhouette of a young girl from what she could see, as her body kept flickering from time to time like a blurring hologram, wearing what appeared to be a victorian-styled nightgown. She looked no older than sixteen, or maybe seventeen, with light-colored hair and delicate features, her expression so serene as she watched her with those dark eyes.

"You're not like the others...Your soul shines so brightly," the ghost uttered, again in that airy and overlapping voice.

Was she...talking to her?

"I like it," the girl said, expressing a small grin. Diana pushed herself further into the headboard, holding that duvet close to her chest as she fearfully stared at the ghost. Watching it stand so close to the bed now.

Where was Nicholas?

"The mistress' soul was so dark..." the girl's features morphed to form a rather saddened expression as she quietly said that.

"She killed so many of us..." the ghost flickered like a dying light, making Diana's brows furrow with confusion and even a little bit of horror at the sound of that.

W-what?

"She was too thirsty...always so thirsty..." the girl shook her head, placing a protective hand around her throat.

"S-she was a vampire too?" She couldn't help but ask, intently staring at the flickering ghost with nothing but intrigue. Curiosity. The girl only nodded once, casting her gaze aside before suddenly disappearing altogether.

"She stole the god's heart! It wasn't hers to take!" Diana jumped with fright as the ghost suddenly reappeared, screaming those words.

"She took what wasn't hers, she took what wasn't hers..." whispers echoed all around her, continuously uttering those same words. Making Diana feel so frightened and nervous. She looked around into the darkened room, tightly holding that duvet up to her chin. She didn't like this. She was way too scared now.

"But she is suffering now. Facing the fates' wrath. We are all suffering," the ghostly girl added with that same airy and echoing voice, those ominous whispers following once again.

"You cannot trifle with the fates. The fates will punish you in return. You cannot trifle with the fates. The fates will punish you in return..."

Diana scrambled away from the bed, terrified out of her mind. She couldn't endure another moment longer in there. She felt like she was going crazy with all those whispers echoing from all around her, along with that scary ghost.

Her bare feet touched the floor. And with few quick strides she was already out the door, running like a scared little child. She hated this place. She hated it so much. And she hated its owner for keeping her trapped here. For torturing her like this.

She ran down the stairs, set on returning to her old room. She was going to sleep locked in the bathroom if she had to. Either way, she was not going back in there. Not when there was a horde of paranormal voices and phantoms howling in her ears. Nicholas could suck on a lemon, for all that she cared. He said that he despised her anyway. There was no point in her staying there... although she did feel kinda lonely and scared without him.

"Crap," she swore under her breath, letting out a tired exhale as she slowed down to a full stop, lastly remembering the main reason why she'd crossed his threshold in the first place. The demon. That hideous and horrifying creature that demanded to have her. Pure and untouched.

The faint sounds of piano keys being stroked suddenly reached her ears, drawing her attention. And before she even knew it she had already changed her direction, going straight for the living room instead.