I didn't look at the guards as they pushed me forward. Didn't dare look at them. My eyes were locked on the ground, where each step felt heavier than the last. I could feel their stares, the cold judgment in the air, but I couldn't bring myself to face it. I was already lost.
Inside the mansion, the familiar chill seeped into my bones, the silence oppressive. I was back where I belonged—or rather, where I had never truly left.
They shoved me into a room, cold and empty, just like I remembered. The walls were bare, save for a single, cracked mirror hanging crookedly. I stumbled and hit the floor, the impact jarring but not enough to make me feel anything more than the emptiness inside.
The door slammed shut behind me with a finality that echoed in the stillness.
I was alone.
And I couldn't breathe.
I squeezed my eyes shut, willing myself not to cry. But the tears came anyway, silent and relentless, soaking the floor beneath me. Every sob felt like it was ripping me apart from the inside.
Why?
Why did you do this to me, Mira?
The voice of Anamis echoed in my mind: "Trust kills, you know."
I clutched my arms around myself as if that could hold the pieces of me together. My thoughts raced, but they didn't lead anywhere. Just circles of confusion and pain. The face of Mira—my Mira—was burned into my memory. I couldn't shake it.
She had lied to me. Betrayed me.
And I had trusted her.
But what choice did I have now? I was back in the cage I had so desperately tried to escape.
A soft clicking sound echoed through the room, followed by the scraping of metal. The door creaked open again. This time, I didn't move.
"Get up," a voice ordered.
I didn't look up, didn't answer. It didn't matter anymore. Nothing mattered.
The voice repeated, firmer this time. "Get up, Mary."
I stayed still.
The footsteps grew closer, until I felt a hand on my shoulder, forcing me to rise. I had no strength left, but I did as I was told, my body moving of its own accord.
When I was standing, I felt the cold brush of iron against my wrist—handcuffs.
I flinched, but didn't protest. What good was it?
"Come with me," the voice said.
I didn't resist as they led me through the dark halls, the silence pressing down harder with each step. It felt like I was walking toward the inevitable, the crushing weight of what awaited me—what I had never escaped.
We stopped in front of a door. It was old and worn, as though it had been waiting for me. The guard opened it without a word.
Inside, the room was cold, but not as empty as the others. A bed, a chair, a desk. No windows. No escape.
The guard shoved me inside, locking the door behind me. The sound of the lock turning felt like a death sentence.
I collapsed onto the bed, pulling the thin blanket over me, though it did nothing to shield me from the cold that had taken root in my chest.
What now?
And the answer came, as always, in the silence.
I was trapped.
And the world outside?
It was nothing but a distant memory now. A lie.