The Devil's obsession with the Heiress

[Music recommendation: Osi and the Jupiter - They Ride Through the Skies on Horse Drawn Chariots]

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In the quiet mansion, where the bright light of the full moon illuminated the dark corridors, staggering footsteps echoed through the silence.

A figure moved unsteadily through the shadows, dark powers continuing to seep from her body as she made her way towards the one place her heart was pulling her to.

The only place that seemed to be calling to her in her current state.

Reaching the ground floor, she finally came to a stop before a door she had never crossed. It bore the delicate carving of a rose above its keyhole... a door Winston had once mentioned led to Gavriel’s second study.

Aliana could feel it.

There was something more to this place.

Her trembling fingers closed around the handle and turned it. With a soft click, the door finally opened.

This time, it wasn’t locked, and Aliana finally stepped inside.

.....

Sometime back...

As the clock ticked closer to midnight, the full moon neared its peak.

The bathroom door swung open, and Aliana staggered out, clad in a light, flowy white dress after taking a freezing shower. Her long hair hung damp over her shoulders, yet her pale skin remained flushed a deep crimson, as though she had just emerged from a hot spring instead. Her chest rose and fell in ragged gasps as she steadied herself against whatever furniture she could reach before collapsing face-down onto the bed.

’What is... happening to me...?’ she asked herself as she felt her body burn feverishly, sometime after Cillian and Winston had left. Her light-grey eyes remained fixed on the open doorway, where she could now see the black barrier more clearly than before.

Her fingers clenched tightly into the silk sheets as she fought against a wave of overwhelming emotions threatening to seize control of her mind.

Every instinct urged her to surrender to the wild tide, but she forced herself to remember Cillian’s warning.

She just needed to stay still.

All she had to do was survive the night, and everything would return to normal.

Yet how could she remain calm when the mansion trembled beneath her every few minutes, acting as a constant, ominous reminder that her husband was out there, battling God knows what, in God knows what condition?

It wasn’t as though she didn’t trust Cillian, nor was she ignorant of the fact that Gavriel must have gone through countless other full moon nights when she wasn’t even in the picture.

But something was pulling at her.

Why?

She didn’t know.

All she knew was the fierce yearning clawing at her from inside. Her body burned for his touch, consumed by deep, undeniable desires for her husband. Alongside that... there was an anxious restlessness driving her nearly mad from staying still.

"Ugh!" Aliana let out a distressed groan, squeezing her eyes shut as if the darkness could somehow halt the chaos tearing through her frame.

Then she felt it... a ripple of power surged through her veins, pressing against her skin as if it wanted to escape.

"I... can’t... hold on..." she gasped as agonising pain shot through every nerve in her body from the sheer effort of keeping her powers contained.

It terrified Aliana when she finally realised what was happening. Her powers were beginning to spiral out of control again, but this time, there was no Gavriel around to calm her, and her own emotions were only making everything worse.

Her eyes snapped open, glowing blood-red.

"No..." she whispered as she forced herself from the bed and staggered towards the door. Reaching the barrier, she pressed her trembling hands against it, watching the dark veil ripple beneath her touch.

"P-Please... let me through..." she whimpered in panic, punching against it in vain. "I-I cannot do this alone... please..."

But the barrier did not budge.

Dark wisps of shadow began seeping from her skin as her powers flared further out of control. Objects around the room started rattling on the tables before crashing to the floor on their own, terrifying and confusing her all at once.

"No, no, no!" Aliana mumbled as she stared at the destruction that was only beginning to unfold because of her.

Just then, another violent tremor shook the foundation of the estate.

Overwhelmed by the chaos raging both inside and outside her body, Aliana slammed her fist against the veil and screamed, "Let me through!"

Her desperate cry echoed in the quiet mansion.

Then, a soft whisper brushed against her mind...

’Don’t fight it... accept it.’

Aliana’s brows furrowed as her frightened eyes scanned the empty room. "Who... who is that?"

Silence answered her from the hallway, but the voice echoed inside her head once more.

’The only way out is to let it in...’

Aliana stood frozen before the barrier, her breathing ragged as the words repeated in her thoughts. ’Let it in?’

Just then, her powers slipped out of control again. With her hands still pressed against the barrier, the force of the collision threw her backwards, sending her crashing to the floor.

She stared up at the barrier in shock, watching as it continued to vibrate, reacting to her involuntary attack.

And that was when it clicked.

Even if the barrier did not harm her, it acted like a mirror. Every time she struck it, her own force simply bounced right back. So force was definitely not going to work.

"Don’t fight it... accept it," Aliana repeated quietly.

Slowly, she pushed herself to her feet and approached the barrier once more. Her powers continued to spill from her body, but this time, she didn’t try to suppress them. She placed her trembling hands against the dark wall and closed her eyes.

She drew in a shallow breath, forcing her scattered mind to focus on the lessons she had learnt from Evelyn.

Open yourself up and let it flow through you.

It was almost impossible to concentrate with the chaos raging around her, but she needed only one moment.

One moment to make it work.

The barrier suddenly reacted beneath her palms.

A dark, blood-red aura began to glow around Aliana as the veil of energy distorted violently before finally dissolving. Instead of striking her, the black smoke flowed into her body, sinking beneath her skin.

Aliana felt the familiar sense of stability wash over her. The same feeling she always experienced whenever she was near Gavriel. The chaos inside her finally began to settle, if only slightly.

When she opened her eyes, her breath caught as she saw the barrier was finally gone.

Yet before relief could even begin to soothe her frantic pulse, a brutal wave of raw dark energy crashed over her.

Aliana gasped as the thick air pressed against her chest, making her realise just how much Gavriel had protected her from the storm raging outside her room.

Yet, as the dark power drifted through the mansion did not frighten her. Instead, it pushed her up onto her feet. Her heightened senses pulled her forward, guiding her through the dim hallway as the power grew stronger with every step.

Driven by pure instinct, she followed the heavy pull in the air until she came to a stop before the quiet door marked with the carved rose.

The moment her eyes landed inside, she knew her hunch had been right.

This was no study.

Countless stairs descended into the darkness, with dull wall sconces illuminating the passage at regular intervals.

Releasing a shaky breath, Aliana began making her way down, but the farther she went, the more her body trembled beneath the sheer, raw power filling the space.

Yet somehow, her own powers, swirling around her like a quiet storm, shielded her from it. She could feel the weight of the darkness pressing against her, a force that would have incinerated anyone else who dared enter this place.

But that wasn’t what bothered her... it was the emotions.

They seeped from somewhere deep within the darkness, so heavy and overwhelming that her heart felt as though an invisible hand were crushing it.

’Is this... him?’ she asked herself, her eyes pricking with tears at the overwhelming tide of regret, pain and acute bloodlust filling the air.

She refused to believe those emotions belonged to Gavriel as she pushed deeper into the shadowy passage.

She lost count of the stairs beneath her feet until she finally reached a long, dark tunnel.

Unable to bear the crushing weight pressing against her any longer, she broke into a run.

Her footsteps echoed through the darkness as she raced deeper into the passage until she finally emerged beneath a vast, arched structure lined with tall pillars and countless cells.

The first thing that struck her was the scent.

Roses.

The intense fragrance sent a tingle through her entire body.

Her eyes glowed a brighter red as she closed them and drew in the intoxicating scent, allowing it to fill her senses.

When she opened them again, she could feel the immense powers surging through the darkness around her.

The vast chamber was almost completely swallowed by shadows, save for a distant corner where the pale moonlight spilled through.

Right then, a low, pained groan escaped from the shadows. The entire stone structure shook violently once more.

Aliana froze before her eyes drifted towards the source of the sound, and she knew with all her heart that... he was here.

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