Halia's POV
It had been days since I was locked in this room. The maids only came in to drop food and water before rushing out like I was something bad.
I'd tried escaping. The door wouldn't move.
Mom… Maggie… they were probably worried sick. Maybe they were there right now searching for me with the police. That thought alone made my chest tight.
My mind had been spinning for days—the dream with a man I'd never met
the blood on my sheets when I woke up he kidnapping the way I felt strangely… connected to the man who took me…and being locked in this giant, beautiful room.
I needed to get out. Somehow. Before they caught me.
Darkness had already settled outside thick with a fog that clung to the window. The building I was in looked long from what I could see… so escaping through the window wasn't an option.
Then came the howling again.
Wolves.
Every night, without fail.
Instead of fear the sound weirdly made me feel… less alone. Like something there knew me.
I stepped closer to the door. Studied the lock. As I touched it a tiny spark of energy shot through my fingers. I pulled back blinking.
Probably just my brain messing with me. Much stress.
Then I felt it again—this time pulsing through my right hand.
"What… is happening to me?" I whispered, staring as a glow shimmered beneath my skin.
I squeezed my eyes shut then opened them again.
The glow was gone.
Maybe I was just overthinking. I grabbed a glass of water. Took a long sip trying to calm myself.
Then—
The surge hit again. Harder.
With it… a whisper.
**Touch the lock.**
I spun around but no one was there. The voice had been soft, sharp and right inside my head.
Great. I was officially losing it.
Still I stepped closer. My heartbeat thudded in my ears.
Taking a breath I pressed my hand to the lock.
A glow burst from my palm—bright, startling—
The lock clicked open.
I yanked my hand back staring at it.
"Humans can't do that… " I whispered.
How was I able to do that?
There was no time to question it. I slipped out. Quietly closed the door behind me.
The hallway was dim, lit by a few lanterns that cast long shadows across the walls. I had to move maids still patrolled this place.
"No one can find me " I muttered to myself feeling a relief just being outside that room.
I crept forward passing three doors without a sound… until voices made me stop abruptly.
A conversation.
Selora.
*Him**.
Heat flared through me at the thought of the kidnapper. Anger mixed with… something I refused to name.
I pressed my ear to the door.
"You have to bring her out. She's been in there enough " Selora said.
"No " he replied sharply. "We still haven't figured out why she reacted like that— the **bleed**."
**Bleed**?
My stomach twisted.
They were talking about me.
How did **he** know? How did *anyone* know?
Then everything clicked together in a dizzy rush—
The man from my dream.
This man.
His scent.
His voice.
Those same burning eyes watching me at the mall with Maggie.
**He** was—
"She's left the room " **he** interrupted suddenly. "I can smell her."
My blood ran cold.
I had to run.
"You have nowhere to run Halia," **he** said.
His voice was deep cold—
There was a low growl under it that no human should be able to make.
Move, Halia.
I bolted down the stairs the maids gasping and shouting behind me as they rushed to catch me.
"Lock the gates!" **he** roared from above.
I kept running, breath burning my lungs. Two guards appeared ahead ready to block me.
Then—
The voice, in my head returned.
**Little one… shout 'kthon terra mereketh.'**
I didn't think.
I didn't question.
I screamed:
**"KTHON TERRA MEREKETH!"**
Light exploded around me—
Everything went black.