Adrenaline surged through the agony. I lowered my good shoulder and charged straight at Ambly, catching her off-guard. My body slammed into hers, knocking her aside hard enough that she staggered against the wall with a surprised grunt. Without looking back, I bolted for the front doors, legs pumping, blood soaking my shirt.
I hit the massive double doors at full speed, grabbing the handles and yanking desperately.
Locked.
Of course it was locked.
I spun around, back slamming against the cold wood, chest heaving. Kara stood a few yards away, head tilted, still smiling. Ambly was already straightening, brushing a wrinkle from her blouse like nothing had happened. The maids on the upper railing hadn't moved an inch—just watched, blank-faced.
My hands dove into my pockets, frantic. Phone. 911. Help.
Right. Gone.
I'd left it in the car because Kara had asked—some bullshit about security signals triggering lockdown. It wasn't security. It was insurance. She'd planned this from the start.
A wide hallway branched off to my right—dimly lit, long, and seemingly empty. I didn't think. I just ran.
"Oh, shit. Shit, shit, shit."
The marble floor was slick under my shoes, blood leaving faint smears behind me. Footsteps started up almost immediately—calm, measured, multiple sets following at a leisurely pace.
I spotted an open door on the left and veered inside, shoving it closed behind me as quietly as I could. My shoulder screamed when I leaned against it.
The room was a dormitory—big, utilitarian despite the mansion's luxury. Three bunk beds lined the walls, neatly made with identical gray blankets. A faint scent of detergent and lavender. Maid quarters.
I scanned fast. Wardrobe at the far end—tall, wooden, double doors. It would have to do.
The footsteps grew louder outside, heels clicking in unison.
I lunged for the wardrobe, yanking the left door open and squeezing inside among hanging uniforms and folded linens. It was tight—barely enough room to stand sideways. I pulled the door shut, leaving only a finger-width crack to see through, and tried to slow my breathing. It came out ragged, too loud in the enclosed space.
Someone entered the room.
Through the gap, I watched a maid—mid-thirties, short dark hair pulled into a severe bun—move methodically. She dropped to one knee, checking under each bunk bed with mechanical precision. Then the curtains, yanking them open to reveal empty windows.
She turned toward the wardrobe.
My teeth ground together so hard my jaw ached.
She walked straight to it, grabbed the right handle, and pulled it open. Uniforms shifted; she peered inside, eyes scanning. I pressed myself as far left as possible, heart hammering against my ribs.
Nothing. She couldn't see me from that angle—the wardrobe was long enough to hide me in the shadows.
She reached for the left handle.
"Kem." A voice from the hallway—another maid. "Check the guest bathroom."
"Yes, ma'am."
The maid released the handle and started to turn away.
A spare uniform sleeve snagged on something as I shifted my weight. The hanger slipped free and clattered to the wardrobe floor.
Fuck.
"Who's there…"
She froze, then spun back. Both handles yanked open this time.
I lunged.
My arm locked around her throat from behind, dragging her backward into the wardrobe with me. I slammed the doors shut with my foot as distant footsteps in the hall picked up speed—someone coming.
She thrashed immediately, elbows jabbing, nails clawing at my forearm. Adrenaline dulled the pain; I squeezed harder, cutting off her air.
She bit down on my hand—hard. Teeth sank into flesh, blood flooding my mouth from how hard I clenched my own jaw.
Then she threw herself backward, slamming me against the wardrobe wall. The impact drove the knife deeper into my back. I felt something snap—the blade breaking inside me. Agony exploded, vision whiting out for a second. The broken tip clattered to the floor.
She wrenched free, stumbling forward, and opened her mouth to scream.
"He's—"
I grabbed the fallen broken blade, jagged, sharp, and drove it into the side of her throat as I tackled her. Hot blood sprayed across my face. She gurgled, hands clutching the wound, collapsing to the carpet.
I stepped over her body, legs barely holding me up, and staggered out of the wardrobe.
Ambly stood in the doorway, arms loosely at her sides, expression unreadable. She glanced down at the maid bleeding out on the floor, then back to me.
I took an unsteady step back.
"Well, well, well. Your hands aren't shaking," she said calmly. "Your eyes don't seem scared. You are a unique one, aren't you, Ace?"
I wiped blood from my cheek, voice hoarse. "Could say the same about you, huh? Guess we all have our little secrets."
"Oi… that hurt, you fucking human."
The voice came from behind me.
I turned slowly, dread pooling cold in my gut.
The maid, the one I'd just killed, was pushing herself up from the floor. Blood still poured from her throat, but she tilted her head with a sickening crack, vertebrae popping back into place. Her eyes were empty, pupils blown wide.
She raised her hand almost casually. When she lowered it, it wasn't a hand anymore—fingers elongated into something sharp and black, like obsidian claws.
Before I could move, she drove it straight through my back.
The claws burst out the front of my chest, slick with blood.
"Ogh…"
My legs gave out. I collapsed to my knees, then onto my side, staring up at the ornate ceiling as warmth spread across the floor beneath me.
Ambly's voice was sharp now, angry. "What are you doing! I told you not to kill him!"
"I'm… I'm terribly sorry, Mistress," the maid rasped, voice distorted, wrong. "I was… carried away."
I lay on my back, blood bubbling in my throat, vision tunneling at the edges. The pain was distant now, like it belonged to someone else.
'Well,' I thought dimly, coughing wetly. 'It was a nice run, eh?'
Kara stepped into view first, her heels clicking softly on the blood-smeared marble. She stopped beside her mother, one hand sliding casually to her hip, head tilted as she looked down at me sprawled on the floor. That same warm, loving smile still curved her lips—like we were just finishing a late-night movie and I'd fallen asleep on the couch.
Ambly crossed her arms under her chest, the silk of her blouse shifting with the motion. Her expression was calm, almost thoughtful.
"I'd say he's an interesting one, Kara."
"It is," Kara agreed softly, the word hanging between them like a casual observation about the weather.
It?
They were talking about me like I was already a thing. A specimen. A fucking toy that had just broken in an amusing way. Rage flickered weakly through the haze of pain and blood loss, but it couldn't find purchase. My lungs rattled with every shallow breath. Fuck… I never thought I'd die like this. Bleeding out on cold marble in a mansion that probably cost more than every building I'd ever stepped foot in. Courtesy of the girl I thought loved me.
"Mother," Kara said, voice light, "why did you change your mind?"
Ambly's gaze flicked down to me again, almost fond. "He refused me, you know? When I proposed we could fuck behind your back. Told me he loves you."
"Aww." Kara's smile widened, genuine delight sparkling in her eyes. "It's such a cute toy. Ace is just like that."
"Yes," Ambly murmured. "I didn't know he was that kind of person."
"So what are we going to do?" Kara asked, nudging my leg lightly with the toe of her shoe. "He can't… live here."
Ambly considered me for a long moment, then shrugged one elegant shoulder. "Sure he can live. What if we bend the rules?"
Kara's eyebrows lifted slightly. "You…"
"He can't live 'here' though." She smiled. "Right?"
Ambly crouched beside me, close enough that I could smell her perfume again—bourbon-vanilla and something darker underneath, like copper. Her face hovered over mine, that stern, beautiful mask finally cracking into a smile that didn't belong there at all. Too wide. Too pleased.
"Ace," she said gently, almost tenderly, as my vision started to gray at the edges. "Maybe you're really a lucky guy, after all."
She reached down and placed her palm over my eyes. Her skin was warm. Her nails—long, manicured—grazed my eyelids like a lover's touch.
Everything went black.
The last ragged breath rattled out of me.
Or… that's what I thought.
Darkness pressed in, thick and absolute.
Then—
A faint blue glow flickered behind my eyelids.
A soft chime sounded, clean and electronic, like a phone notification from another life.
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> Ace | LC: 0 | EXP: 0/100 | LVL 1
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> HP ▰▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱ 17/100
> MP ▰▰▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱ 22/60
> STA ▰▰▰▰▱▱▱▱▱▱ 31/80
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> [ BAG ] [ MAP ] [ SHOP ] [QUESTS]
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ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎