The silence that followed Sophie's collapse was thicker than the dark itself, pressing in on Marcus until his breath came shallow and ragged. He kept her cradled in his arms, rocking her back and forth, whispering the same words again and again—I won't let you go. I won't let you go.
But the more he said it, the more hollow it began to feel. Because he knew Ethan had heard him. He had felt the smirk in Sophie's trembling body when the words left his mouth.
By morning, Sophie wouldn't open her eyes. Her chest rose and fell in an uneven rhythm, shallow and uncertain, as if her body had forgotten how to breathe. Marcus tried to wake her, shaking her gently, then harder. Her lips parted, but the words that spilled out were not hers.
"You swore, Marcus. You bound yourself with a promise. Do you know what promises taste like, when they're drenched in desperation? They taste like chains. And you just locked yourself to me."
Marcus slammed his fist against the floor, teeth gritted. "Shut up. She's stronger than you think. Stronger than both of us."
But Ethan's laugh filled the air, echoing as if bouncing from every wall. "No, Marcus. She's already mine. You're the one still in denial."
Sophie stirred then, eyes fluttering open, but the irises were darker, pupils swallowing the light. She sat up slowly, her movements jerky, unnatural, like a marionette tugged by invisible strings.
"Marcus," she said, but the tone was all wrong. Soft, mocking, venomous. "Would you really kill yourself for her? That's what you swore, isn't it?"
Marcus forced himself to meet her gaze, though his chest was heaving with panic. "If it meant freeing her, yes. Without hesitation."
Her head tilted, a slow, animal motion. "And what if that's exactly what I need to finish the binding? What if your death seals her soul to me forever? Would you still leap from the ledge, brother?"
He froze. The thought clawed through his mind like barbed wire. Every oath, every desperate vow he had whispered into Sophie's hair had been forged in sincerity—but sincerity could be weaponized. Ethan wasn't just inside Sophie. He was inside Marcus now, winding around his thoughts, twisting them into snares.
"No," Marcus growled, shaking his head. "I won't play your game."
Ethan smirked through Sophie's lips. "Oh, but you already are. Every word you've spoken has been a move on my board. And she—" Sophie's hand rose, trembling, to touch Marcus's cheek. The warmth in the gesture was hers, but the hunger in her eyes was not. "She is the prize I've been playing for."
Marcus shoved her hand away, rising to his feet. "You won't win. You'll never win."
But his voice shook. Ethan heard it. Sophie did too.
Later, when Marcus thought Sophie was asleep, she whispered into the dark, her voice broken but her own.
"You can't make promises like that anymore," she said, her back turned to him.
Marcus froze where he sat. "Sophie…"
Her shoulders trembled. "Every time you swear to save me, it's like he grows stronger. Like he's feeding on your devotion. Please… don't give him anything else to use."
Marcus wanted to argue, to insist that his love was the only thing keeping her tethered to herself—but deep down, he knew she was right. Ethan thrived in absolutes, in words spoken with blood and conviction. The stronger Marcus declared his faith, the stronger Ethan's grip became.
That night, Marcus sat in the dark, blade in his lap, and wondered how to fight a monster that turned love into poison.
And somewhere between his exhaustion and fear, a thought crept in. A thought so dangerous he nearly gagged on it.
What if the only way to save Sophie is to let her go?
The moment the thought took shape, Sophie gasped in her sleep, convulsing as if struck. Marcus rushed to her side, horrified. Her eyes flew open, and Ethan's voice slithered out.
"Yes. Think it louder. Think it clearer. She'll hear you. She'll know you've already betrayed her."
Marcus gripped her face, forcing her to look at him. "No. No, Sophie, don't listen. I didn't mean it—"
But Ethan's laughter drowned him out, and Sophie's eyes filled with tears.
"You did," she whispered. "I felt it."
Marcus's world collapsed in that instant.
Marcus's heart slammed against his ribs as Sophie pulled away from his touch. Her tears streaked down her cheeks, but it was the look in her eyes that gutted him—the raw doubt, the fracture where Ethan had sunk his claws.
"You thought it," she whispered, voice breaking. "You thought of letting me go."
Marcus shook his head violently. "Not like that. Sophie, listen to me—I was scared, I was exhausted, but I would never abandon you."
Ethan's laughter purred from her lips. "He lies even as he clings to you. Don't you feel it? His doubt, festering like a wound? He knows he can't save you. He's already searching for the way out."
Sophie pressed her palms against her ears, sobbing. "Stop—just stop—"
Marcus lunged forward, grabbing her wrists, forcing her to look at him. "Don't believe him. He's twisting my thoughts, Sophie, not my love. I am here. I will always be here."
But even as he said it, the words felt brittle. Because somewhere, deep down, the thought had been real. A poisoned seed planted in a moment of despair. And Sophie had felt it, because Ethan had made sure she did.
The days that followed blurred into a waking nightmare. Sophie barely spoke. She flinched when Marcus touched her, though she tried to hide it. At night, she sometimes curled away from him, murmuring to herself as if bargaining with a shadow.
Marcus felt himself unraveling. He paced the house until his steps wore grooves into the floorboards. He sharpened the blade until his hands bled. He stared at Sophie until his vision blurred, terrified that if he blinked too long, she'd be gone.
But Ethan was patient. Ethan knew how to wait.
One evening, Marcus returned from the cellar where he'd been searching for salt—anything to carve a barrier—and found Sophie standing in the doorway, the notebook cradled to her chest.
"Put it down," Marcus said, his voice low.
She didn't move. Her hair hung in wild strands over her face, her eyes too dark to be fully hers. "He says you don't love me. Not really. He says you love the idea of saving me. That you love how it makes you feel needed."
Marcus's blood froze. "That's not true."
Her lips trembled. "Isn't it? If I was already gone—if there was no one left to save—would you still want me?"
He stepped closer, shaking his head. "Sophie, stop. That's not you talking."
But she pressed the notebook tighter against her chest. "He says the only way to prove it is to bleed for me. To give him your life. Then I'll know."
Marcus's vision blurred red. "Don't you see? That's his trap. He wants me to die so he can bind you with my blood. Sophie, please—fight him. Don't let him turn you against me."
Her eyes flickered, a war playing out inside her. For a heartbeat, he saw her—the real Sophie, trembling, terrified, desperate.
"Then promise me," she whispered. "Promise you won't let me go, no matter what I say. Even if I beg for death. Even if I scream for it."
Marcus's throat closed. The blade felt heavy in his hand. "Sophie…"
"Promise me!" she cried, clutching the notebook like a lifeline.
Marcus dropped to his knees before her, tears burning his eyes. "I promise. I swear it on my life. I will never let you go."
The moment the words left him, Sophie gasped as though struck, her body convulsing violently. The notebook fell to the floor, pages flaring with black fire that gave no heat but filled the room with stench.
Ethan's voice roared from her chest, triumphant. "Yes. Yes! Another chain forged. Another vow bound. She's mine, Marcus. Every promise you make ties her tighter to me."
Marcus staggered back, horrified. He had walked straight into the trap again. His devotion had become the weapon.
Sophie collapsed to the floor, convulsing, choking on screams that weren't hers. Marcus rushed to her, cradling her, whispering apologies, but she clawed at his chest with bloody nails.
"Stop swearing for me," she sobbed. "Stop giving him everything. You're feeding him—don't you see?"
Marcus held her tighter, his heart breaking. "I don't know how else to keep you with me."
Her voice cracked. "Then learn. Or you'll lose me."
Ethan's laughter rattled the walls, swelling like thunder. "Too late. You already have."
And for the first time, Marcus felt the icy tendrils of surrender brush against his soul.