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My hand wraps around the door handle, gripping tight as another harrowing cry, this one more muted, sounds behind the wood.

Breathing deeply, I rip the door open, ready to face whatever horror the house decides to unleash on my return, but there’s nothing.

“It’s alright, calamity,” a voice says. “You’re alright.”

A whimper travels down the hall, pulling goose pimples to the surface of my flesh.

The carpet is prickly against the soles of my feet as I inch toward Seraphine’s door, propped open.

Lucien hovers near the edge of her bed, his hand smoothing back some of Sera’s hair as she writhes beneath the covers; her cries, while still insistent, have quieted somewhat.

“What’s happening?” I ask him in a whisper.

“She has night terrors.” His reply is one I’d typically find ironic, given the setting, but the pure terror locked on her features gives me pause.

“How often do you soothe her?” I ask him.

“Nightly.”

“Does she know?”

One flick of his eyes toward me gives me my answer, and I swallow over a lump of fear wrapping around my windpipe.

Foreboding, dark, and intense, it slithers in my brain, warning of events to come, but the question is, will we choose to ignore it for the sake of love? For the sake of her?

16

ENIGMA

Before: Lenore

Lucien twirls me in the air, nearly knocking over a lamp.

“Shh, be quiet, you’ll wake the entire house,” I squeal, breathless by the time he drops me back onto my feet.

“I don’t care. Let them wake.”

“You’re drunk.”

“So are you.” He kisses me, paying careful attention to my tongue with his.

Being with him is going to bring me and my family such good fortune, I remind myself as his hands grope brazenly over my breasts.

“Someone could see,” I breathe.

“Let them see. You’re going to be my wife someday, Lenore. They’ll see more than this. One day, you’ll be the lady of this estate.”

I look around the dim foyer and swallow.

Even thinking about being tied to this place feels daunting. It’s too much to consider.

“I swear this place is haunted,” I say when I hear a creak overhead.

He shrugs. “They don’t bother us; we don’t bother them.”

“What?!” I breathe, trying to keep my voice down so I don’t wake anyone.

All I need is for Charles to see me in his son’s arms.