Sophie's hands were soaked in Marcus's blood. It was hot, sticky, seeping through her fingers as she pressed desperately against the wound. His head lolled against her lap, his chest rising only in shallow, ragged jerks.
"No, no, no," she whispered, tears falling freely onto his face. "You don't get to leave me. Not like this."
The silence of the house was crushing, as though even the shadows were holding their breath. The pit below still churned faintly, but Ethan's roar had faded into nothing. For the first time in what felt like forever, the air wasn't suffocating with whispers.
Sophie bent low, her forehead pressed against Marcus's. "You saved me. Let me save you now."
She tore a strip from her shirt, wrapping it tightly around his side. Her hands shook violently, the fabric already soaking through with blood, but she forced herself to keep going. "Stay with me, Marcus. Just breathe. That's all you have to do."
For a moment, she thought she'd lost him. His chest stilled, lips pale. Her own breath caught in her throat, panic clawing its way into her chest.
Then—faint. So faint she almost didn't believe it—his chest rose again.
Sophie gasped, clutching him tighter. Relief washed through her, but it was fragile, thin as glass. He was still slipping, his body trembling as though fighting something unseen.
And deep inside him, something stirred.
A whisper. Not Marcus's voice. Not his soul.
He gave me a home. You gave me the door. You really thought stabbing him would banish me? Foolish girl.
Sophie froze, her blood running cold. "No… no. I killed you. I—"
The whisper seeped from Marcus's lips, though they barely moved. You killed nothing. You invited me closer. And now, I'll grow in him, bone by bone, nerve by nerve, until he is nothing but me.
Her grip on him tightened, fury flaring in her chest. "I won't let you. I'll tear you out if I have to."
A chuckle slid from Marcus's mouth, low and chilling. You love him too much for that. That's why you'll fail. Love is a chain, Sophie. And I'll use it to strangle you both.
Marcus's body spasmed violently in her arms, his back arching. Sophie cried out, holding him down as best she could, her tears splattering his chest. "Fight him, Marcus! Please—don't let him in!"
But Ethan's voice only grew stronger, layered over Marcus's faint, gasping breaths. He already opened the door. He begged me to spare you, and I granted it. Now he is mine, piece by piece. Soon, when you look into his eyes, you won't see him at all.
Sophie's sob broke free, raw and shaking. "Then I'll burn this whole house down before I let that happen."
The shadows in the corners quivered at her words, as though the house itself feared her resolve. Ethan only laughed. Try. His flesh is my sanctuary now. You'd sooner destroy him than destroy me.
Marcus stirred faintly, a groan escaping his lips—his own voice, thin but real. "Sophie…"
Her heart leapt, hope piercing through the despair. She cradled his face, her forehead pressed to his. "I'm here. I'm not leaving."
His eyes fluttered open, brown for just a flicker, wet with pain. "Don't… let him… win."
Before she could respond, his body convulsed again, black veins crawling higher across his neck, pulsing with Ethan's presence.
The battle for Marcus had only begun.
Marcus's body trembled in Sophie's arms, his chest heaving with jagged, uneven breaths. His skin was clammy, streaked with sweat and blood, but worse than that were the veins—dark, throbbing lines crawling up his throat like roots of something monstrous digging deeper.
Sophie pressed her palm to his chest, as if the sheer force of her will could anchor him. "Stay here. Stay with me. Don't let him in."
His lips parted, and for a fleeting moment, his voice was his own. "I'm… trying…"
But then his eyes snapped open—black, bottomless, glowing faintly like embers smoldering in ash. The grin that curled his mouth was not Marcus's.
Trying is not enough.
Sophie recoiled as Ethan's words slithered from Marcus's mouth. The sound was wrong, doubled, as if two voices were woven together—Marcus's and Ethan's—like a broken chord.
"You don't belong in him," Sophie spat, tears burning her eyes. "Get out. If you want a body, take mine. Just leave him alone!"
The laugh that followed was sharp and cruel. Oh, Sophie. How noble. How tragically predictable. But why would I trade a vessel that willingly offered himself for one drowning in fear? He begged me to spare you. He chose me. And now, he is my cathedral.
Marcus's body convulsed, his hands clawing at the ground as though trying to drag himself free of invisible chains. For one instant, his own voice broke through, raw and desperate. "Don't… believe him…"
Sophie's heart cracked. She held his face in her palms, forcing him to see her. "I don't care what he says. I see you. I see you, Marcus. And I will tear the darkness out of you if it kills me."
Ethan snarled through Marcus's lips, the black veins on his skin pulsing brighter. Then watch as your love kills him faster than I ever could.
The boards beneath them groaned, black tendrils sprouting through the cracks. They slithered toward Sophie like serpents, wrapping around her wrists, her ankles, pinning her in place. She struggled, but the ink burned, searing her skin.
Marcus's head lolled back, his body writhing as though two forces were waging war inside him. His scream tore through the room—half agony, half fury—until it broke into silence, leaving only the sound of Sophie's sobs and Ethan's mocking whisper.
He's fading. Every second you hesitate, I claim more of him. The lungs that breathe your name, the heart that beats for you—they will all be mine. Unless…
Sophie's head jerked up, her breath ragged. "Unless what?"
The shadows pulsed, tightening around her limbs, forcing her face inches from Marcus's trembling lips. Ethan's voice hissed, low and venomous. Give me a promise. A vow, bound in blood. Swear yourself to me, Sophie, and I'll let him breathe another day. Refuse… and he suffocates tonight in your arms.
Her stomach twisted, bile rising. It was the very trap she had feared—Ethan feeding not just on their pain, but on her choices. On her desperation.
Marcus stirred faintly, forcing words past cracked lips. "Don't… listen… Sophie… please…"
But Ethan's laughter drowned him out. Do you hear him? Weak. Fading. He'll beg you not to choose, and when you obey, he'll die anyway. This is love's curse, Sophie. It binds you to the blade that cuts you both.
Sophie's tears blurred her vision, her body trembling against the shadows' grip. Her mind screamed in every direction—fight, flee, sacrifice—but her heart anchored her. She looked down at Marcus, at the man who had thrown himself into hell for her, and she knew there was no choice at all.
"I won't give you me," she said, voice trembling but fierce. "And I won't give you him. You want chains? Break them yourself. Because I will never swear to you."
Ethan's roar shook the walls, furious, the tendrils tightening until her bones felt like they'd snap. Marcus's scream rose with hers, a raw sound of resistance and torment. The house itself seemed to bend beneath the weight of it.
But Sophie didn't look away. She held Marcus's gaze, searching for that flicker of brown beneath the black. And there—faint, almost drowned—she saw it.
"Fight him," she whispered, voice shaking but resolute. "Fight him, Marcus. Come back to me."
And in that moment, as the shadows writhed and Ethan thundered, Marcus's body convulsed violently. His back arched, his chest heaved, and his eyes—flickering, torn between two worlds—fixed on her with one final spark of recognition.
"Sophie…"
The shadows shrieked, recoiling as though scorched.
For the first time, Ethan sounded afraid. No.
But Marcus's voice, weak though it was, broke through. "I… am not… yours."
Then his body went limp again in Sophie's arms, leaving her gasping, bloodied, and shaking—but holding onto the fragile, desperate hope that he was still fighting inside.