The cloaked figure didn't walk so much, like their feet barely bothered touching the ground. Every step felt intentional, quiet enough that even the dust seemed scared to move. My heartbeat wasn't exactly cooperating, I felt like it was punching my ribs from the inside, but Kael's hand anchored me, warm and steady.
I cleared my throat, which was way less steady than I hoped. "Who are you?"
The figure tilted their head. The hood slipped back just enough for the light to catch their face. Its eyes were bright silver, almost reflective. Not dead nor alive but something in-between. My stomach twisted hard, I didn't know them, but some small, traitorous part of me whispered that I should.
"Names are useless," the figure said.
Their voice came out low, smooth in a way that wasn't comforting at all; like metal dragged slowly across glass. "What matters is that the balance is cracking. You've woken things that should've stayed asleep."
I took a breath that tasted like fear and dust. "We didn't choose any of this, Victor forced….."
A single lift of their hand changed the entire courtyard.
"You're reckless," the stranger said, in a tone that sounded almost entertained. "You carry power with no understanding, the guardian is only the first layer."
Selene peeked out from behind me. "First layer of what, exactly?"
It didn't answer.
My hands were full trying to keep the chains from vibrating out of my grip. The guardian stepped forward, the air around it crackling like a storm was trying to claw its way through.
"The Lunaris elders were fragile," they said. "Victor most of all, but you...." their gaze flicked over me like a knife. "You still have a chance, if only the estate doesn't eat you alive first."
My throat tightened. "I don't give a damn about Victor or the elders." My voice shook but I didn't back down. "If anyone touches Kael, that's the line."
Kael's fingers tightened around my arm, silent, steady, warning me and supporting me at the same time. "Stay sharp," he murmured. "Their aura is… off."
The stranger's lips tugged upward, like he was amused. "Protecting him won't shield you from the house, the guardian follows you now, yes. But the question is simple: do you control it… or is it controlling you?"
My pulse skipped like it tripped over itself. Something hot and dangerous spiraled up my spine, the guardian's strength mixing with mine, a little too fluid, a little too tempting.
"I control it," I said. It came out harsher than I meant, and maybe harsher than was wise.
The stranger chuckled, the sound scraping at my nerves. "Oh, you truly have no idea how wide this ritual stretches, the manor is just the doorway."
Selene touched my arm gently. "Elara… what do we do?"
I didn't know.
My blood hummed, the chains glowed faintly, and the guardian shifted like it could taste the tension. I felt power building in my chest, not all mine, not all the guardian's but something shared, something growing too fast.
The figure's expression cooled. "The guardian's loyalty comes with a cost, every decision you make from here will carve a path, and the house will not forgive the wrong one."
Kael stepped forward slightly. "So what's your angle? Why show up now?"
Their silver eyes flicked between us. "I'm here to warn and also watch. If you survive what's coming, perhaps I'll do more. The estate is awakening and it doesn't care about your attachments."
The words dug in deeper than I wanted them to.
The guardian rumbled, low and threatening. I lifted my hand. "Not yet," I whispered. "Not on my word."
The stranger nodded like I'd passed some test. "Good, you'll need that instinct. But understand that your next steps will pull you deeper than you can come back from."
Kael touched my shoulder, it felt warm and solid. "Then we go forward," he murmured. "All of us."
I exhaled, shaky but determined. "Forward."
The stranger stepped back, and their body seemed to fold into the manor's shadow. One blink and they were gone, melting into the upper windows like the house swallowed them.
The guardian roared.
I met Kael's gaze. "We have to go inside before the damn house decides for us."
Selene wrapped her coat tighter around herself. "I'm terrified, just putting that out there but yeah, we have to."
The chains glowed faintly as I stepped forward. Kael stayed close, Selene hovered behind and the guardian followed like a living storm.
The doors weren't just doors, they moved slightly, a slow pulse like they were tasting the air.
I swallowed hard. "This is where we find answers."
Kael's hand brushed mine again, firm and real. "Together."
I nodded as my heart was hammering, I stepped through the threshold.
The manor exhaled a long cold breath across my neck, and the darkness inside shifted like it had been waiting for me all along.