Whispers of Hollow Manor....
Clara couldn't move. The figure in the corner of the library was becoming clearer with every flicker of the candles. A woman in a tattered gown, her face pale as ash, her eyes glowing with something fierce and unnatural.
Eliza… Adrian's voice cracked on her name, half reverence half despair.
The ghost's gaze slid from him to Clara. And then it smiled a cold, twisted thing that sent shivers down Clara's spine.
She doesn't belong here the ghost whispered, her voice like dry leaves scraping across stone. You can't save him You'll only join me.
The air turned bitterly cold. Clara felt her lantern sputter. For a moment she thought she was going to faint, but Adrian stepped forward his hand raised his voice sharp.
Enough...
The spirit flinched, retreating into the shadows. The candles steadied, though the room still hummed with menace. Clara's knees trembled.
Adrian turned back to her. His expression was pained, almost ashamed. I didn't want you to see her. Not like this.
Clara swallowed hard. That was Eliza?
He nodded once. The curse didn't just take her life. It bound her here too. But unlike me, she… she changed. What remains of her is anger, jealousy. The house feeds on those things until nothing pure survives.
Clara thought of the way the spirit had looked at her like prey. A knot tightened in her chest. Then I'm in danger.
Yes Adrian's voice softened, but his eyes were sharp with urgency. And that's why you must go. Tonight.
Clara shook her head instantly. No You think I can just walk away now? After meeting you, after hearing your story? I can't. I won't.
The words surprised even her. But they felt right heavy with conviction.
Adrian stared at her torn. His hands curled into fists at his sides. Clara… don't do this. You don't understand what this place will do to you. To your mind. To your soul. I don't want you to suffer because of me.
She stepped closer, her heart pounding, her lantern trembling in her hand. Maybe I do understand. Maybe that's why I want to stay.
For a moment, neither of them spoke. The silence between them was thick, filled with all the words they didn't dare say. Then Adrian's shoulders sagged, and the centuries of grief on his face softened into something almost tender
You're a fool he whispered, but there was no anger in it. Only a kind of awe.
Clara's breath caught. She wanted to touch him, to bridge the impossible distance between flesh and shadow. And maybe he wanted it too, because he lift his hand slowly, reaching for her.
Their finger didn't quite meet not fully. But when her skin brushed the air where his hand should have been, she felt it: a chill, an energy, like the faintest echo of touch. Enough to make her heart race. Enough to make her ache for more.
In that fragile moment, Clara understood that this was no longer just curiosity. No longer fascination with a ghost story. This was something dangerous. Something forbidden.
And she also knew she didn't care.
Adrian pulled back suddenly his expression torn. This cannot be. You are alive, Clara. You belong to the world of sunlight, of laughter, of breath. Not here. Not with me.
Clara's throat tightened, but she forced herself to meet his eyes. Maybe I belong wherever my heart tells me to stay.
The words hung between them like a vow.
But before Adrian could reply, a crash shattered the stillness the sound of glass breaking, books tumbling from shelves. The air thickened again, and a voice hissed through the library, sharp and furious.
She is mine.
Eliza.
The temperature plummeted, the candles extinguished all at once. Shadows coiled around Clara's ankles, pulling her toward the dark. She gasped, struggling, the lantern flying from her hand.
Adrian's voice roared through the blackness. No! You will not take her!
A sudden blaze of pale light burst from him, pushing back the darkness. Clara stumbled forward, collapsing against him or rather, against the cold suggestion of his form. He wasn't solid, but he held her all the same, his presence wrapping around her like frost and fire together.
For one fleeting secondbClara felt safe.
But she also knew this was only the beginning. Hollow Manor wasn't going to let her go. And neither, it seemed, was Adrian Blackwood...