Some doors don't just stay closed..
They watch you.
I don't know how long I'd been sitting on the bed, staring at the wall after Kael had left me. Minutes? Hours? It didn't matter. Sleep wasn't coming.
How could it?
Every word from that cursed banquet clawed at me: She won't last through the Choosing. No one does.
I gripped the edge of the mattress until my knuckles ached.
"What is the Choosing?" I whispered to no one.
No answer came. Of course it didn't.
Selene had told me to rest. To save my strength. But how do you rest when everyone in the room looks at you like you're already dead?
The silence pressed in on me, heavy, suffocating.
And then I heard it.
A sound, faint but unmistakable.
A low hum.
Not music. Not wind. It was… something else. Something alive.
It came from beyond my door.
Logic told me to stay put. To wait until Kael returned — not that I wanted him to. But instinct, stubborn and reckless, pushed me to my feet.
I needed answers.
And no one here was going to give them to me willingly.
The corridor outside my room was darker than I expected. Candles burned low in their sconces, casting jagged shadows on the black stone walls. The runes carved into them pulsed faintly as I walked past, like they could feel me there, trespassing.
The hum grew louder with each step.
I followed it.
Left. Then right. Then down a narrow flight of stairs that seemed to sink into the belly of the palace.
The air grew colder. Thicker.
And then I saw it.
A door.
Not like the others.
It was carved from some dark wood I didn't recognize, reinforced with black iron that shimmered faintly in the dim light. Strange markings covered its surface — not the neat runes from the hallways, but jagged, erratic symbols that looked older. Hungrier.
And the hum — no, it wasn't a hum anymore. It was a whisper.
Low. Indistinct.
But I swear I heard my name in it.
Come.
The word wasn't spoken. But I felt it.
I took a step closer.
My hand trembled as I reached for the handle.
The moment my fingers brushed the iron, pain shot through me.
Not normal pain.
It was the same burning agony as the mark on my neck, amplified a hundred times. Like the bond itself was screaming at me to stop.
I gasped, stumbling back.
And then the whispers changed.
Don't.
"Curiosity kills faster than claws."
The voice came from behind me, deep and smooth and far too calm for the terror pounding in my chest.
I spun, my back hitting the door.
Kael stood at the end of the corridor, bathed in shadows, his silver eyes glowing faintly in the dark.
"How—" My voice caught.
He didn't answer. Didn't need to.
In the blink of an eye, he was in front of me.
"You shouldn't be here," Kael said. His voice was low, quiet — more dangerous than if he'd shouted.
"I wasn't—"
"Lying doesn't suit you."
He stepped closer, and I couldn't stop myself from pressing back against the door even though the iron burned through my clothes.
"What is this place?" I asked, hating how small my voice sounded.
"None of your concern."
"It is my concern if it tries to kill me," I snapped, surprising even myself.
Kael tilted his head slightly, like a predator amused by its prey's defiance.
"Did you touch it?"
I clenched my fists. "Answer me."
"Did you touch it?" he repeated, sharper this time.
"I—yes," I admitted through gritted teeth. "And it burned. Why?"
Kael's jaw tightened. For a moment, he looked almost… conflicted.
"You shouldn't have come here."
"I want answers."
"And I want you to stay alive."
The words hit harder than I expected.
I blinked. "What does that mean?"
Kael didn't respond. Instead, he stepped even closer, his hand rising to rest against the wall beside my head.
I couldn't move.
Not because of the bond. Because of him.
"What's behind this door?" I demanded.
"Nothing you need to survive," he said.
"That's not an answer."
"It's the only one you're getting."
I shoved at his chest, though it was like pushing against stone. "Why do you keep doing this? Treating me like I don't deserve to know anything."
His hand shot out, gripping my wrist before I could pull away.
"Because some truths don't just hurt," he said softly, his face inches from mine. "They destroy."
"Destroy what?" I whispered.
Kael's gaze held mine, unflinching.
"You."
The word sent a chill down my spine.
He let go of my wrist, but didn't move back.
"You really don't remember, do you?"
My breath caught. "Remember what?"
Kael's expression shifted — just for a second. It wasn't the cold mask I'd come to know. It was something raw.
"The Blood Moon didn't choose you by chance," he said. "It never does."
I froze.
"What are you talking about?"
"Your past," Kael said, his voice low. "You think you're just some girl caught in the wrong place at the wrong time? No. You've been tied to this longer than you know."
My throat tightened. "You're lying."
"Am I?"
"I would know if—"
He cut me off. "Would you?"
My heart pounded so hard it hurt.
"What do you mean?" I demanded.
Kael didn't answer.
Of course he didn't.
I wanted to scream at him.
But then he added, almost casually, "The last one was like you."
I blinked. "What?"
"The last Chosen."
My stomach dropped. "What happened to them?"
Kael's eyes were unreadable as he said, "She lasted three days."
I swallowed hard. "Before what?"
"The Choosing devoured her."
The way he said it — quiet, certain — made bile rise in my throat.
"And you expect me to—"
"Yes."
The word was sharp. Final.
"You'll survive," he said. "Or you'll die like she did. Those are your options."
My knees went weak. "Why are you doing this to me?"
Kael's lips curved — not a smile. Something darker.
"I'm not," he said. "The Blood Moon is."
I wanted to ask more.
But his hand came up, cupping my jaw with terrifying gentleness.
"Stay away from this door," he murmured. "If you value your life."
"Or what?" I whispered.
Kael leaned in, his lips brushing my ear.
"Or you'll find out why no one survives the Choosing."
And then he was gone.
Just like that.
Leaving me shaking in front of a door that hummed with whispers only I could hear.
And for the first time since the Blood Moon night began…
I wondered if maybe dying in the forest would have been kinder.
Cliffhanger:What exactly ties her past to the Blood Moon? And what will the forbidden door reveal when she defies Kael?