Chapter 126 Through Glass and Terror
Matilda's POV
Three days trapped in this glass case felt like an eternity, and my soul imprisoned inside this porcelain doll had begun to fray with each passing hour. Nolan's equally trapped spirit beside me provided the only company in this suffocating prison, and our conversations had become the thin thread keeping us both from complete madness.
"Aurora's been dealt with, hasn't she?" Nolan's voice cut through the silence, sharp with barely contained panic. "So why the hell hasn't anyone come to get us out of here yet?"
I felt the same desperate fear clawing at my chest, but I had no answers to offer him.
"If Elara helps me get back into my body, I swear I'll treat her like real family from now on," Nolan continued, his voice taking on a desperate quality. "No more targeting her, no more suspicion. I was such an idiot, letting Aurora manipulate me like that. God, I hate that woman for what she's done to us."
Another day and night crawled past with agonizing slowness, and still Elara did not appear.
"Elara's not coming for us, is she?" Nolan's voice cracked with accusation. "She's holding a grudge because of our past conflicts, letting us rot in here. This is life and death, and she just doesn't care!"
"Nolan, perhaps we shouldn't expect too much from her," I heard myself say, the words tasting bitter. "She didn't grow up with us. There's no deep emotional connection there."
The door opened suddenly, and James walked in. He scanned the room before his gaze landed on the glass case, and I felt my consciousness surge with desperate hope.
"This male one has to be Nolan, definitely his style of bad luck," James muttered. "Nolan, can you hear me? Grandmother, are you okay in there?"
I tried desperately to respond, but the doll's limitations remained absolute.
"Alpha Kaelen's condition has stabilized," James continued, gesturing toward the upper floors. "But Elara won't be able to help you anytime soon because she's completely exhausted herself."
His expression shifted into something more serious as he focused on Nolan's doll. "Honestly, I wouldn't blame her if she decided not to help you at all. Since she came back to this family, has anyone truly cared about her wellbeing? Especially you, Nolan."
He poked the doll's forehead with his finger. "Why have you always treated Elara so badly? She never did anything to provoke you. You all protected Aurora even when Elara kept warning that something was wrong. If you hadn't kept those dolls Aurora gave you, how could she have trapped your souls inside them?"
The truth in his words hit like physical blows. Shame burned through my trapped consciousness because I couldn't deny any of it.
"What was so special about Aurora anyway?" James continued, his voice rising with frustration. "She's not even family! I also treated Elara poorly because of Aurora's influence, but I woke up fast and corrected my behavior immediately!"
He pulled down his collar to display the moonstone pendant, then fished a protective talisman from his pocket and waved both items in front of us. "See? Elara even made me a second protective charm. She's not petty or vindictive at all. She's a Guardian with real power, and people like her focus on protecting the pack and eliminating dark forces, not on holding grudges over small personal slights."
My previous certainties crumbled under the weight of James's straightforward analysis. Even if Elara chose not to help us, I realized with sinking dread, we wouldn't have any right to blame her.
The next day, James returned with Sophie beside him.
"Elara slept for so long after she came back yesterday and she still hasn't woken up," Sophie announced with solemn gravity. "Elara might be dying!"
James quickly covered Sophie's mouth, but when he turned to address the dolls, his expression carried genuine worry. "Sophie's not entirely wrong. Elara really is severely injured, and she's been unconscious this entire time."
I had suspected James might be exaggerating, but hearing Sophie confirm it with such innocent certainty shattered that hope completely. The hatred I felt toward Aurora intensified into something dark and vicious.
"Don't worry too much though," James added. "Elara will find a way to return your souls to your bodies."
Sophie nodded seriously. "Bad Aurora hurt Grandmother and Nolan! She's terrible!"
That evening, after the dolls had been returned to the glass case, Nolan spoke again with genuine sincerity.
"If I get my body back, I'll treat Elara properly from now on. I mean it this time."
"I wasn't that terrible to her before," I heard myself protest weakly. "I even let her keep that pet of hers."
"Maple!" Nolan's sudden exclamation made me jerk in awareness, and I caught a flash of white movement before a massive dog head appeared directly in front of the glass case. My relief at having the barrier between us evaporated instantly when one giant paw pressed against the cabinet door and pushed it open with casual ease.
Maple's mouth opened wide, revealing enormous teeth, and then we were being lifted, carried in those powerful jaws as the world tilted and swayed around us. Nolan screamed, and my own terror rose to match it as Maple leaped onto the windowsill.
But Maple had already launched from the window, and suddenly we were moving through the night air with terrifying speed, the ground rushing past below in dizzying blurs as the massive dog bounded across the estate and up into ancient trees.
The world became a chaotic mess of motion and terror, branches whipping past, and I lost all sense of direction as Maple carried us through what felt like an endless nightmare.
More than half an hour later, when I had begun to believe my sanity would simply shatter from the prolonged stress, Maple finally stopped and set us down on soft grass. My consciousness felt scrambled and disoriented, spinning in circles that made coherent thought nearly impossible.
Then I heard her voice, familiar and tinged with fond exasperation. "Maple, I asked you to bring the dolls to me. Why did it take you so long?"
It was Elara's voice. Through the doll's limited vision, I caught sight of silver hair gleaming in the moonlight, and relief so intense it felt like physical pain flooded through my trapped consciousness.