The first thing Elara noticed was the silence.
It wasn't the calm kind anymore.
It was watching.
Listening.
Learning.
She walked through the long library corridors, the soft sound of her footsteps swallowed by thick carpets and towering bookshelves. The Blackwood mansion had too many rooms. Too many shadows.
Too many places to hide secrets.
She ran her fingers lightly over the spines of old books, trying to steady the strange feeling crawling up her spine.
He said he married me to protect me.
But protect me from what?
A soft click echoed.
She froze.
She wasn't alone.
"Elara."
Her name was breathed from the shadows.
She turned.
A woman stepped forward.
Tall. Elegant. Cold smile.
She wore black like a warning.
"Who… are you?" Elara asked quietly.
"The name you'll hear in your nightmares," the woman replied softly.
Then added like it was an afterthought:
"Celeste Blackwood."
The name hit hard.
"Dominic's…?"
She smiled thinly. "Half-sister."
Elara's fingers curled slightly.
"What do you want?"
Celeste stepped closer, heels silent against the carpet.
"To see what kind of girl sold herself into this house."
A beat.
"To see what could possibly make my dear brother so… careful."
Elara lifted her chin.
"I wasn't sold to him."
Celeste's eyes glittered.
"Oh? Then why is there a contract?"
Silence.
Danger.
Celeste leaned in closer, whispering:
"You should be careful, little bride."
"He ruins everything he touches."
Before Elara could ask more, footsteps sounded down the hallway.
Dominic's.
Celeste straightened.
"That's your shield," she murmured. "Enjoy it while it lasts."
Then she vanished into the shadows.
Dominic reached her minutes later.
He stopped when he saw her face.
"Who spoke to you?"
"A woman," Elara said. "She said her name was Celeste."
His body went still.
Like someone had touched a wound.
"Stay away from her," he said quietly.
"Why?"
"She is the reason people call me a devil."
Elara swallowed.
The house seemed darker.
The walls seemed closer.
She looked around.
And realized something terrifying:
This marriage wasn't protecting her from the world.
It had placed her directly in the middle of a war.