⠀ ⠀ ⠀( they said the manor was cursed. not in the way children whispered at fences, but in the way old men refused to speak of it at all. a silence earned by loss and disappearance, by too many paths leading in, and none returning.
caelan had never believed in fairy tales. not the kind spun from gold, love, and softly glowing lanterns. he believed in teeth, the hidden rot beneath roses, and in the quiet hunger of a place forgotten by time.
he stepped through the threshold without knocking. the air inside was perfumed and dust-heavy, like it hadn't been breathed in years. vines curled up through the tile, blooming in unnatural silence, their petals a shade too red to be trusted. the chandelier above him still burned and the wax from the nearby candles dripped slow as blood. there were no signs of life, and yet, he was certain something watched him. )
you've gone to great lengths to keep the world out. ( his voice barely reached the high ceilings. ) but someone's always desperate enough to walk in.
