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What just happened?

None of them held. Only one stayed.

“Who is he?”

Guild’s gaze found mine in the rearview mirror. Careful. Measured. “Someone none of you were supposed to meet.”

Fear rose—but so did something else. The memory of his hand. Calloused. Hard. And the way it’d softened—just for a second.

I wasn’t supposed to feel it.

But I did.

I was the one no one would choose tonight. This night was meant for Bethany. For the others. Not me.

And yet—he chose me first.

Only this didn’t feel like being chosen.

It felt being claimed.

The silence in the car felt heavy. There was no music. No small talk. Only the sound of the engine, the tires on the road and my breath. I focused on the world outside, watching the lights pass as I tried to map where we were going. But it was pointless. I had no control here. This wasn’t a journey. This was a removal.

Guild sat silent in the driver’s seat handling the car around each corner as we made our way out of the city. He didn’t grip the wheel like he was nervous. No. He drove like he’d done this before.

He didn’t speak.

Didn’t explain.

Didn’t offer any comfort.

“Guild… why me?”

He didn’t answer straight away. Just sat there, fixed on the road—then glanced up.

Concern pulled at the lines around his eyes.

“Because he said.”

And just like that it was gone.

He turned back. Hit the indicator. The car moved. City fell away behind us. Lights disappeared and the road emptied until we were the only car on the road.

Trees crowded in. Distance and Isolation. I glimpsed houses between the pines—but they vanished before they could take shape. We weren’t going somewhere public. The further we drove, the less the world felt real. I needed it to be real, didn’t I? Nothing in my life had been solid. Nothing in my life had been safe. Not until London and Vivienne had rescued us… and now… now I’d been taken away.

I tried to count the turns. Tried to search for street signs. But everything was a blur. The harder I tried the more the panic inside grew.

The car slowed, then turned into a massive drive. Towering wrought iron gates stood ahead—closed. Then they moved. Slow. Heavy. Opening inward, like something had given permission.

The world outside seemed to end at the gate. The crunch of tires sounded different. Muffled. Dull. Like sound itself had to fight to survive. My breaths turned shallow—holding tight. We drove through. The trees swallowed us. Shadows stretched across the path as the car crawled through. My focus lifted as the view ahead opened. First the shape. Then the outline. Then—the house.

I turned my head as we neared, lifting my gaze up… and up.

It was too large.

Too still.

Too… aware.