Cassidy
The door locked behind me with a soft click.
I stood frozen, my pulse hammering in my ears.
The fire crackled in the massive stone hearth, filling the room with a golden glow, casting flickering shadows along the carved wooden furniture, the thick rugs, the heavy silk dark curtains.
It was warm. Lavish.
Not a prison.
But I wasn't stupid.
I crossed the room, pressing my ear to the door, straining to hear if he was still outside.
Nothing.
I tested the handle.
Locked.
Of course.
I exhaled shakily, stepping back. My eyes darted to the windows.
They were tall, framed with thick iron detailing. I hurried over, grabbing the edge of the heavy curtains, pulling them aside—
And my stomach dropped.
The estate stretched out below, vast and endless, but it wasn't what lay beyond that sent ice flooding through me.
It was the sheer drop just beneath the window.
A balcony might have been my chance. A ledge, something. But this?
This was a straight fall.
I swallowed hard, forcing my hands to steady.
I had to find another way.
I had to.
I turned back toward the room, scanning it properly this time.
It was large. Bigger than anywhere I had ever slept before. A kind sized bed stood in the center, covered in thick, dark sheets. A sitting area was arranged in front of the fireplace, bookshelves lined the far wall, a huge wardrobe and another door led to what I assumed was a bathroom.
I wasn't sure what I had been expecting.
But it wasn't this.
Not something so… comfortable. Even the colors were something I liked, I was never a a colourful decoration kind of girl.
I shoved that thought away.
It didn't matter.
I wasn't going to be here long enough to care.
I paced, my arms wrapping around myself as I tried to push through the storm in my head.
Focus.
The door was locked.
The window was impossible.
I needed another option.
I moved toward the bookshelves, running my fingers along the spines, searching for anything—a hidden mechanism, a weak spot, a way out.
Nothing.
My nails dug into my palms.
I turned sharply toward the fireplace, eyes scanning the stone, the mantel—anything.
And that's when I saw it.
It looked like a crack in the wall, half-hidden behind the wardrobe, but I knew no crack was that straight.
I strode toward it, my heart hammering.
Slowly, I reached out, gripping the heavy wardrobe, pulling it aside.
There was door shape crack on the wall. It had to be a door.
A second door.
My breath caught.
I pushed against the wall and it gave way.
A rush of adrenaline flooded my veins.
I pushed it open, stepping into the dark hallway beyond, my breath coming in short, sharp bursts.
I didn't know where it led.
I didn't care.
I just needed to move.
I crept forward, the wooden floor cool beneath my bare feet, the silence pressing in on all sides. The hallway twisted, narrow and dimly lit by the occasional wall sconce.
This wasn't a main corridor.
It was probably a secret access, maybe designed during the war.
A way to move unseen.
I swallowed hard, picking up my pace, turning the next corner—
And smacked straight into something solid.
I yelped, stumbling back, my breath catching—
A pair of golden eyes blinked down at me.
Damon.
Of course it was Damon.
He leaned against the wall, arms crossed, smirking like he had been waiting for this exact moment.
"Well," he drawled, tilting his head. "That was fast."
I glared up at him, my body still humming with adrenaline.
Damon chuckled, straightening. "Didn't even last an hour. I think that's a record."
I clenched my fists. "Move."
He grinned. "Nope."
I lunged anyway, but he stepped in front of me, blocking my path with ease. "Where exactly were you planning to go, little human?"
"Anywhere but here."
He snorted. "And then what? Freeze to death in the woods? Get torn apart by rogues?"
"Anything is better than staying with him."
Damon's smirk faded slightly.
For a brief moment, he studied me. Not with amusement.
With something else.
Something that almost felt like pity.
I hated it.
"You don't get it yet, do you?" His voice was softer now.
I swallowed hard. "Get what?"
Damon sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "You think this is just another prison."
I stiffened. "Isn't it?"
He exhaled slowly. "No, Cassidy. It's not."
I hated how certain he sounded.
I hated the way his words sent a shiver down my spine.
Because deep down—somewhere I refused to acknowledge—
I was starting to wonder if he was right.
---
Damon didn't drag me back.
He didn't force me to return to the room.
He just stood there, waiting, his golden eyes unreadable.
And after a long, tense moment—
I turned around on my own.
I hated that I did.
I hated that he had won.
But I knew there was no point in fighting him.
Not yet.
I walked back through the hidden passage, my heart thudding against my ribs, my mind racing.
Because I had failed.
Again.
And I knew I would keep failing.
Because Kieran hadn't locked me in that room just to trap me.
He had put me there to show me something.
That even with all the exits in the world—
I still had nowhere to go.