The house had never felt this terrifying.
Caspian stood in the middle of her room, her heart pounding so loudly she was sure the people downstairs could hear it.
Footsteps echoed through the lower floor.
Heavy.
Careful.
Searching.
"Check the study," a voice ordered from downstairs.
Another voice answered, "Clear."
Caspian pressed her back against the wall, trying to control her breathing.
Riven had told her to stay hidden.
But hiding suddenly felt impossible.
Every small sound in the house felt amplified.
A door slammed somewhere downstairs.
Then another.
They were searching room by room.
Her stomach twisted.
They were getting closer.
Caspian moved quietly toward the door and locked it, just like Riven had told her.
The soft click of the lock sounded far too loud.
Her hands trembled.
For a moment, she wondered where Riven had gone.
Was he really fighting them?
Could a ghost even stop armed people?
Downstairs—
A loud crash echoed through the house.
Something had been knocked over.
Then shouting.
"What the hell was that?"
Silence followed.
Then footsteps again.
But this time… faster.
Panicked.
Caspian frowned slightly.
That didn't sound like hunters anymore.
That sounded like confusion.
From the hallway outside her room, she heard someone approaching.
Her breath caught.
The footsteps stopped right outside her door.
A man's voice spoke quietly.
"This one's locked."
Another voice answered.
"Break it."
Caspian's heart dropped.
The door handle rattled violently.
She stepped backward slowly, her mind racing.
Run, Riven had said.
But the only window in the room was two floors above the ground.
Running wasn't exactly an option.
The door shook again.
Harder this time.
"On three," the man outside said.
"One…"
Caspian looked around desperately.
There had to be something she could use.
Something.
"Two…"
Suddenly—
The temperature in the hallway dropped.
Caspian felt it instantly.
A freezing wave spreading through the air.
The men outside the door noticed it too.
"What the—?"
Before the third count could be spoken—
A loud thud hit the door from the outside.
Not like someone kicking it.
Like someone had been thrown against it.
Hard.
A man groaned in pain.
The second man shouted, "What's happening?!"
Caspian's eyes widened.
Riven.
Outside the door, chaos erupted.
Footsteps scrambling.
Furniture crashing.
One of the intruders shouted in panic.
"Something's here!"
Another voice yelled back angrily.
"Stop messing around!"
Then—
A deep, chilling voice echoed through the hallway.
Cold.
Controlled.
And unmistakably dangerous.
"You shouldn't have come back."
Caspian froze.
That voice didn't belong to Riven.
The hallway went silent for a second.
Then one of the intruders whispered in fear.
"…Ash?"
Caspian's stomach dropped.
Ash.
Riven Ash.
But Riven was already here.
So who… had they just seen?
And why did they sound terrified?