The hallway was silent after the chains locked themselves back onto the forbidden door.
Too silent.
Rhea could still feel Lilith's scream buzzing in her bones.
Her breath trembled as she watched Adrian.
He hadn't moved.
Not a blink.
Not a breath.
"Adrian…?" she whispered.
Slowly, he exhaled—shallow, shaky.
"She knows," he said quietly.
Rhea stepped closer. "Knows what?"
He looked at her with eyes that held something she had never seen in him before.
Fear.
"Lilith knows the curse can be broken," he said, voice low. "And she knows you're part of that danger."
Rhea swallowed hard. "So she'll stop at nothing to—"
Before she finished, a sudden gust of freezing wind blew down the corridor, snuffing out every candle.
Darkness swallowed them whole.
Rhea grabbed Adrian's arm.
"Adrian—!"
"Stay behind me," he whispered sharply.
She obeyed.
The air shifted. Heavy. Violent. Sharp.
Then—
A soft, sing-song whisper floated through the darkness:
"He was mine first…"
Rhea stiffened.
Lilith.
Her voice was everywhere—filling the corridor, the walls, and the air around them.
Adrian pulled Rhea behind him fully.
"She's manifesting. Don't let her touch you."
Rhea's heart pounded. "Why? What happens if she—"
A cold hand brushed Rhea's hair.
Her scream caught in her throat.
Adrian reacted instantly—spinning around and yanking her into his arms as a shadowy feminine form materialized behind her.
Lilith.
But this time she wasn't just smoke in a mirror.
She had form.
Shape.
A face carved from ice and fire.
"Adrian…" Lilith said sweetly, her voice dripping with venom.
"You brought her into my house? Into our life?"
Adrian stepped in front of Rhea again, shielding her.
"She is my wife," he said firmly.
Lilith laughed—sharp, cruel.
"Your wife? Or just another sacrifice you pretend to protect?"
Rhea felt the sting of the words, but Adrian didn't falter.
"She's under my protection."
Lilith tilted her head, her smile widening.
"Then protect her from this."
Her hand shot forward—fast, deadly, and aimed straight at Rhea's chest.
Rhea gasped, unable to move.
Adrian roared—a sound of pure fury—as he grabbed Lilith's wrist midair.
The corridor cracked with a burst of white light.
Lilith shrieked.
"YOU DARE TOUCH ME?!"
Adrian's grip tightened, his voice dark and commanding.
"You do not lay a hand on her."
Lilith snarled, twisting her wrist unnaturally.
"Oh, darling… She will die. And there is nothing you can do."
Adrian pulled Rhea backward.
"Rhea, run."
"No!" she cried, clutching his sleeve. "I'm not leaving you! Adrian—"
But something slammed into her—an invisible force—throwing her against the wall.
Pain shot through her spine. She collapsed to the cold floor, vision blurring.
She heard Adrian shout her name, but the sound was distant… fading…
Lilith appeared above her—a ghostly, towering silhouette.
"Do you know why he chose you?" Lilith whispered, kneeling beside her.
"Because you're breakable. Fragile. Easy."
Rhea's trembling fingers scraped against the floor.
"Stop…"
Lilith leaned closer, her face inches from Rhea's.
"But you're also dangerous. You see him. Really see him. And that…"
Her voice twisted.
"…that makes you a threat."
Rhea's body was cold, muscles weak, and breath shallow.
"And threats," Lilith whispered, "must be removed."
Her hand descended toward Rhea's throat.
Rhea squeezed her eyes shut—
And suddenly—
A burst of heat shot through her skin.
Lilith hissed and recoiled.
Rhea opened her eyes.
A glowing mark had appeared on her wrist—golden, hot, pulsing like a heartbeat.
Rhea stared in shock.
"What… what is this?"
Adrian was beside her in an instant, pulling her into his arms and lifting her from the floor.
His face was pale.
Horrified.
"No…" he whispered, staring at the glowing mark. "Not this."
Lilith laughed hysterically, her form flickering with rage.
"Oh yes, Adrian. She is marked now. Marked by the mansion itself."
Rhea choked, "What does it mean?"
Adrian tightened his grip on her as if afraid she'd disappear.
"It means," he said quietly, voice trembling for the first time—
"You're no longer just my wife."
He lifted her chin gently, his eyes filled with fear, regret, and something deeper.
"It means the mansion has chosen you."
Rhea's breath hitched.
"The chosen bride," Lilith hissed. "A role even I never earned. The mansion has bound itself to your soul."
Rhea's heart pounded so hard she could barely hear.
"Adrian…" she whispered. "What does that mean for me?"
He cupped her face, his voice breaking.
"It means that if the curse isn't broken—
the mansion will take you too."