The stench of blood and fear was suffocating, coating my tongue with a metallic tang that made me want to retch.I was rooted in place, trapped between disgust, terror, and the cruel reality of my helplessness.
I wanted to move.
To scream.
To fight.
But the weight of their cruelty shackled me.
“I can’t do this.”
The thought repeated in my mind, over and over—a frantic, silent mantra.
And yet, in the depths of that helplessness, I made a silent promise.
I would end this.
Even if it killed me.
Amir beside me was both a comfort and a torment—a silent guardian, a shadow of warmth amid the ice of horror.
Then—his voice.
Low.Intimate.A whisper that wrapped around my trembling core like silk and steel.
“You’re not like this.You’re too pure.Are you sure you want to be a part of this?”
His words were a lifeline—a rope dangled over the abyss, offering escape.But they were also an accusation.A reminder of the innocence I felt slipping away with every second I remained in this room.
I couldn’t breathe.
I reached for him, my fingers clenching the fabric of his shirt, desperate for something—anything—to anchor me in this maelstrom of evil.
“I can’t breathe,” I gasped, the room spinning dangerously, the stench of blood and burning flesh coiling in my lungs.
Amir shifted closer, his breath warm against my ear, the hushed urgency in his voice slicing through the chaos.
“Elizabeth.”A command.A plea.“You don’t have to be a part of this world.Do you know what the English Timehunter Society is called?”
My heart slammed against my ribs, my breath hitching.
A test.A revelation.A warning.
I turned to him, my eyes wide, searching—begging for something, anything that could make sense of this nightmare.
Amir’s gaze seared into mine, his next words sliding over my skin like ice and fire.
“The Executors of Agony.The Harbingers of Temporal Terror.”
Each syllable dripped with dread, painting the society in strokes of horror darker than I had ever imagined.
A shiver slithered down my spine.
Not just from the words.
But from the way Amir spoke them.
As though he had known them intimately.As though the darkness had already claimed him.
