Sharon's eyes snapped open, the crypt's darkness pressing down like a weight. The boy's face hovered above hers, his black eyes burning with an endless hunger. The knife trembled at her throat, its edge biting into skin.
"You can't escape," he whispered, his breath cold on her lips. "You're mine now."
A spark flared in Sharon's chest—anger, fear, she didn't know. She bucked hard, throwing him off balance. The knife sliced her neck, but she didn't feel it. Adrenaline flooded her veins as she scrambled up, vision blurring.
The crypt was a maze of shadows. She stumbled, feet scraping stone. The boy's laughter echoed, bouncing off walls. He was everywhere and nowhere.
She hit a wall, trapped. The boy appeared before her, eyes gleaming.
"Stop fighting," he said. "You'll only hurt yourself."
Sharon's chest heaved. "I'd rather die."
He tilted his head. "You will."
The shadows around him seemed to twist, like living things. He reached for her, and she saw it—the moment he'd end her.
A memory flashed: Emilia's words, scribbled in a book she'd found. _Break the mirror, break the curse._
Sharon's gaze snapped to the crypt's wall—a shard of broken mirror juted from the stone.
The boy followed her look. "No," he growled.
She lunged, fingers closing around the shard. It cut her palm, but she didn't feel it. With all her strength, she slammed the mirror into the wall.
The sound was like a scream. The mirror shattered further, shards flying like knives.
The boy screamed, his body jerking back. Shadows writhed off him, like snakes fleeing.
Sharon's vision cleared. The crypt was breaking apart, stones cracking. The boy's eyes turned white, like he'd been drained.
"You... can't..." he whispered.
The mirror's frame exploded, glass flying. Sharon raised her hands, but it was the boy who was cut, like the shards were targeting him.
He crumbled, his body turning to smoke. The shadows swallowed him.
The crypt collapsed with a roar. Sharon fell, darkness taking her.
***
She woke coughing, on grass. Night sky above, stars blurred. She was outside the mansion, the house looming behind her.
The mirror's shards were scattered around her. One cut her palm—a symbol, like the one on her chest.
Sharon sat up, head spinning. It was over. She'd broken the curse.
But as she stood, the shadows seemed to move, like they were watching.
She stumbled toward the house, needing to get away. The front door swung open, creaking like a scream.
The mirror hung in the hall, shattered frame and all. Her reflection stared back.
But in the corner of the glass, something moved.
Sharon's heart froze. The boy's face appeared, smiling.
"You didn't break me," he whispered.
The mirror exploded.
***
She woke gasping, in a hospital. White walls, beeping machines. Her neck was bandaged, like she'd been cut.
A nurse smiled. "You're okay. You were found in the mansion."
Sharon's memories rushed back—the boy, the mirror, the knife. She looked at her hands, like they'd betrayed her.
The nurse frowned. "You need to rest."
Sharon nodded, but her mind was racing. The shadows in the room seemed to move, like they were watching.
She slept, but the dreams came—boy, mirror, knife.
***
Weeks passed. Sharon went home, tried to return to normal. But the shadows lingered, like they'd left a mark.
One night, she saw him in the mirror again. Smiling.
_I'm in you now_, he whispered.
Sharon's heart pounded. She smashed the mirror, but he was still there.
In the shards, she saw it—the symbol on her chest, like a brand.
_Mine_, he whispered.
Sharon's world went dark.