Her husband opened the door, and Elara heard the low murmur of greetings from the other side. Lucas' voice, bright and welcoming, called out to her. "Darling, they're here."
Elara slowly made her way over, standing beside her husband. Eva hid behind her legs, peeking out at the guests with wide, fearful eyes. One of the men, tall and imposing, gave Eva a look that sent a cold shiver down Elara's spine. Eva shrank further, her little body trembling in Elara's arms.
Elara instinctively pulled her closer, her hands gently cradling her daughter as she whispered, "It's okay, sweetheart. They're Bab's friends."
The man with the calculating gaze smiled warmly, but there was something unsettling about it. "Welcome back to your house, Miss Elara," he said, his voice smooth and measured. "I'm Damien."
The other man, who stood slightly behind him, gave a small bow, his smile a bit too wide. "And I'm Raven. Happy to see you again."
Lucas looked at Elara with a confused expression. "Do you know each other?" he asked, his voice laced with curiosity.
Elara stood there, frozen, her eyes locked on Raven. She didn't know how to answer. She felt a strange, creeping sensation deep in her chest as if something dark and long-forgotten was tugging at her memory. "I... I don't know..." she stammered.
Before she could finish, Damien cut her off with a laugh, his tone dismissive. "Of course not," he said, shaking his head as if Elara's hesitation was nothing more than a small, unimportant matter. "It's the first time we've met your wife. He's always like that—talking without thinking."
He shot Raven a quick, almost imperceptible glance, prompting Raven to step forward, his expression unreadable. "Oh yes," Raven continued, his voice smooth like velvet. "You know, your husband was so worried. But now... now he's flying with happiness for your return."
Elara held Raven's gaze for a moment, her pulse quickening. Something about him, the way he spoke, the way his eyes seemed to pierce through her... it made her uncomfortable, but she couldn't place why. She swallowed the lump in her throat and forced a smile, but the tension in the air was thick.
Lucas, trying to ease the growing discomfort, turned to Elara with a reassuring smile. "Let's go eat, darling," he said gently, taking her hand. He then turned to Damien. "Dinner is ready."
But before anyone could move, Raven's voice interrupted them, calm and steady. "If you don't mind, there's someone else who would like to join us. If you don't mind, Lucas."
Elara's stomach tightened. Another guest? She hadn't expected this, but the way Raven spoke, with such quiet authority, made her uneasy. She looked at Lucas, who hesitated for a moment, then nodded slowly.
"Of course. If it's someone you've brought, then they're welcome too," Lucas replied, though Elara could tell the uncertainty in his voice mirrored her own.
Raven's lips curved into a faint smile, and he stepped aside to allow someone else into the room.
When the figure stepped into the room, Elara blinked in surprise. A smile, genuine and relieved, spread across her face as she recognized the familiar face. "Jian?" she said, her voice filled with happiness.
Jian, the man who had once come to their aid, gave a small, polite smile as he nodded toward her husband. "Hi again, Mr. Lucas," he said, his voice warm and respectful.
Lucas, his expression softening as recognition dawned, stepped forward with a grateful look in his eyes. "Oh, you're the one who protected my wife. Thank you so much… sorry for not thanking you properly before. We'd be happy to have you join us for dinner."
Jian nodded again, a polite smile on his face as he responded, "Thank you, sir." His eyes flickered to Elara, then to Eva, but his gaze was quickly drawn to the small child still nestled in her mother's arms. Elara noticed Jian's brief glance at Eva, but the expression on his face was unreadable.
The group moved toward the dining room, with Lucas leading the way. The soft murmur of conversation filled the air as they all walked in, but Elara couldn't shake the feeling of unease that lingered in her chest. Raven and Damien followed behind them, with Damien's eyes gleaming with something that Elara couldn't quite place.
Jian, walking just behind Elara, seemed to be lost in thought, his gaze occasionally drifting toward Eva. The child, sensing the attention, clung to her mother more tightly, hiding her face against Elara's chest. Elara's protective instincts flared again, but she masked it with a smile, trying to push aside the tension that seemed to grip her.
They reached the dining room, where a large table was set for dinner. The food looked exquisite, but the warmth of the meal seemed almost too bright compared to the chill in the air. Everyone took their seats, and as Lucas gestured for Jian to sit, Elara carefully placed Eva in the chair beside her, the little girl still quiet and tense.
Just as Elara was about to sit down, Lucas excused himself. "I'll be right back. I forgot the spoons and forks," he said with a reassuring smile before leaving the room.
Jian took his seat across from Elara, his eyes briefly meeting hers. "It's good to see you again," he said quietly, though his gaze soon shifted back to Eva. His expression softened for a moment, as though he were trying to understand something, but he said nothing more.
Damien's voice broke through the silence, his tone light but carrying an undertone of something darker. "We're all so happy to be here. Aren't we, Raven?"
Raven, who had remained unusually silent until now, gave a slight nod, his lips curling into a half-smile. "Indeed," he said softly, his eyes briefly meeting Elara's. "It's good to see old friends again."
Elara's heart quickened as she noticed the strange emphasis on the word "friends." She had no idea what was going on, but the more she tried to ignore the unease gnawing at her, the more it grew.
Before she could respond, Damien chuckled softly, his voice carrying a hint of mischief. "Raven always gets sentimental when we're back together," he teased lightly, but his tone held a layer of something darker that Elara couldn't quite place.
Elara smiled awkwardly, trying to focus on the conversation. She glanced at Lucas, who was still gone, and then looked back at Raven. There was something unsettling about him—his calm demeanor, the way his eyes seemed to linger too long on her. She forced herself to shake off the feeling, but it lingered like a shadow.
At that moment, Damien added, "We've been through a lot, haven't we, Raven? It's good to be back in the company of old friends." His voice held a slight edge, as if there were more to the words than what was being said.
Raven, however, cut him off smoothly, his smile never faltering. "Here you are, Mr. Lucas," he said, his voice smooth as silk.
As the moment stretched, Lucas
re-entered the room with the spoons and forks, his smile bright and completely unaware of the tension that had thickened in the air in his absence. "There we go," he said cheerfully, setting the utensils down on the table with an easy confidence. "Now we can eat."
Elara smiled faintly, but her eyes flicked back to Raven. His gaze shifted briefly toward Eva, who was still clutching her mother's arm. Eva had turned her face away, refusing to meet Raven's eyes, her small body trembling slightly as she clung to Elara's side. Raven's eyes lingered just a moment longer than necessary, his expression unreadable, before he turned his attention back to the table.
Elara couldn't ignore the chill that crept up her spine. She tightened her hold on Eva, pulling her daughter closer, as if to shield her from the intensity of Raven's gaze. The room, though filled with voices and laughter,
Elara couldn't ignore the chill that crept up her spine. She tightened her hold on Eva, pulling her daughter closer, as if to shield her from the intensity of Raven's gaze. The room, though filled with voices and laughter, carried an undercurrent of disquiet.
Lucas, ever the mediator, tried to ease the tension with a light remark. "You know," he said, glancing around at the group, "it's almost funny—Raven, Damien, and even Jian, they're all nearly my wife's age. She's around twenty-three, isn't she?"
A brief, shared smile passed between Raven and Damien before Raven laughed softly. "Yeah, me and Damien are both twenty-four," he said, his tone carrying an amused lilt. "And the youngest among us, Jian, is only nineteen."
Lucas's eyes twinkled as he turned toward Jian. "You're so quiet, Jian," he commented warmly.
Jian offered a small, almost shy smile in response. Before Lucas could elaborate further, Raven interjected lightly, "Yeah, he's always been like that."
Lucas then gestured to Eva, his tone softening. "And this is our young daughter, Eva, you met her that day."
Jian's gaze shifted from Lucas to Eva, and he nodded. "Yes," he replied, his voice barely above a whisper. But Eva's eyes darted away, her expression tense and withdrawn, as if the mere attention had stirred up a hidden anxiety.
The conversation continued with light banter and occasional laughter, but an unmistakable tension lingered beneath the surface. Once dinner had concluded, the guests began to disperse, leaving Elara with a pensive silence. Needing a moment to compose herself, she excused herself and made her way toward her room to fix her makeup a small, comforting ritual in the midst of uncertainty.
As she walked through the dimly lit corridor, a sudden surge of fear gripped her heart. The laughter and casual chatter of the evening faded into the background, replaced by a foreboding silence. With each step, the feeling intensified, as if unseen eyes were watching her every move.
Elara paused, her hand trembling on the door handle to her room, the fear inside her growing into a silent, desperate alarm.
Elara's pulse quickened, her breath coming in shallow gasps as she stood frozen in the dimly lit corridor. The silence around her felt unnatural, thick with an unseen weight pressing against her chest.
Then, from the distance, she saw it, A figure.
Standing motionless at the far end of the hall.
A cold shiver ran down her spine as she watched the figure slowly turn its head in response to a voice that echoed through the empty space:
"Elara?"
Her heart nearly stopped. Her eyes widened in terror.
The figure… it was her.
A perfect image of herself, standing far away as if she existed in two places at once. The sight sent a wave of icy dread through her veins.
Before she could comprehend it, she forced herself to turn, to look toward the direction of the voice that had spoken her name.
And there—standing just a few steps away was a small girl.
Elara's breath hitched. "Eva?" she choked out, her voice barely above a whisper. "What are you doing here?"
But Eva didn't react. She didn't blink. She didn't move.
She stood there, her expression empty, her small frame like a shadow frozen in time looking at the other figure of Elara. It was as if she wasn't really there as if she were part of something beyond Elara's reach.
Elara's hands trembled. Her mind screamed
It was like watching a memory she had never lived.
A scene from a past that didn't belong to her.
"What's going on?" she whispered, the words barely forming as dread clawed its way into her soul.
To be continue ...