The giant rat jerks once — twice — body twitching, impaled by a hunting knife.
My breathing is still erratic, like my soul refuses to come back to me. I can’t stop the avalanche of sobs building in my chest.
I drop the mattress and I’m about to collapse to my knees, but Ghost catches me just in time, his arms tightening around me.
“Still afraid of rats, I see,” he says, gently caressing my hair.
“It was rabid,” I cry. “It had foam at its mouth.”
I feel him glance over his shoulder.
“There’s no foam, Adora. You were probably too scared. Saw things that weren’t there.” His voice is gentle. Soft.
I peek behind him, but the moment I see the blood, I go dizzy and jolt back against his chest.
“Maybe,” I stutter. “It was still a huge rat.”
I grip his t-shirt tightly and look up at him, eyes narrowed.
“How big is your rat problem in this fucking dungeon?” I hiss.
He smiles softly, looking down at me.
“I’ll take care of it, adorable. No more rats incoming.” He pulls me closer to his chest before speaking again. “I promise.”
Weirdly, I believe him. There’s an alarm blaring somewhere in the back of my mind, but I’m suddenly too tired to hear it. And he’s warm. And strong. He feels safe. I just want to forget the whole thing.
“I’ll stay with you for a while,” he says, still holding me. “You can sleep. The rat won’t be here when you wake up.”
Ghost
She is mine. Trapped. And I feel like I'm trapped, too, just like that rat.
I'll burn for this, I just fucking know it.
Adora
"Good morning. No more rat problems, I hope?"
He moves toward me like a bored king. Like he does this shit all the time. He might, what do I fucking know? I knew the old him, not this twisted version. He could very well have a dozen other dungeons filled with people who crossed him.
I let out a slow, unamused breath. How much fucking time has it been?
"Go to hell."
"Already been there, adorable," he muses. "Thanks to you."
I ignore him. Ignore the way his presence affects me. Infects me. Slowly crawling into my mind. My soul.
"You slept better. Less tossing. Less shaking. No nightmare."
My chest tightens. Are there cameras in here? I didn't see them! Fuck!
"Still hungry?" he asks.
I lift my head then, dragging my gaze toward him. Laser-focused eyes. Smug smirk. The same fucking Ghost. But also not.
"Why? You planning on feeding me like a bird again?" I say testily.
