"Did you miss me?"

I felt the voice more than I heard it.

A deep vibration curling around my bones, settling in my skull.

I scrambled upright, heart pounding.

The room was empty.

The shadows didn’t move.

The doors were locked.

The city outside buzzed like normal.

But when I turned toward the mirror across the room—

He was there.

Cassian stood in the reflection, watching me.

Not beside me.

Not in the room.

Only in the mirror.

His head tilted, dark amusement flickering in his silver eyes.

He lifted his hand, dragging his fingers along the glass.

And I felt it.

A phantom touch stroking down my arm.

I slapped my hand over my mouth to keep from screaming.

Cassian’s lips parted, and his voice curled around me like silk.

"Your fear is intoxicating, little dove."

I shut my eyes.

"You’re not real."

His laugh was a low, velvety thing.

"You keep saying that."

Something cold touched my neck, like ice melting against my skin.

I jerked away.

The sensation disappeared—but in the mirror, Cassian stepped closer.

"Do you feel crazy yet?"

I shook my head.

"Go away."

He only smirked.

"You belong to me, Lena. No matter where you go. No matter how far you run."

The lights flickered.

The air thinned.

Cassian’s voice turned to a whisper, curling against my skin.

"I will always find you."

I covered my ears.

I don’t hear him.

I don’t see him.

He’s not real.

But when I opened my eyes—

The handprint was back on my thigh.

Dark.

Fresh.

I choked on a sob.

Because I knew, deep in my bones, deep in my soul—

Cassian wasn’t just in my head.

He was in my skin.

23

LENA

I didn’t know what was real anymore.

The apartment felt suffocating, like the walls were closing in on me.

I could hear the faint hum of the refrigerator, the rustling of the curtains when the wind picked up, but it all felt... off.

Like nothing was where it was supposed to be, like I couldn’t trust anything around me.

I had locked the door.

I remembered doing it—turning the deadbolt, twisting the knob to make sure.

Yet when I woke up in the morning, it was wide open.

The door swung like a pendulum in the breeze, and I couldn’t remember ever leaving it unlocked.

I had to have been dreaming.

But no...

Cassian was always here, always watching.

I’d been foolish to think I could escape him.

His voice was there, too, soft and mocking, as if it was just beside me, in the very air I breathed.

He was playing with me again, his presence curling in the corners of the room, just beyond my reach.

"Did you leave the door unlocked, Lena? Are you sure you locked it? Or did you want me to come in?"

I jumped, my pulse racing as the whisper slid over my skin like ice.

I pressed my palm to my forehead, fighting back the dizziness that threatened to swallow me whole.

I didn’t know anymore.

Was I losing my mind?

Was I the one unlocking the door in my sleep?

Or was it him—somehow, always him?

The mirror in the hallway caught my reflection, and for a moment, I couldn’t recognize myself.

My eyes were wide, hollow, like I’d seen something terrible.

But there was nothing behind me.

Nothing but my own face staring back, too still.

I swallowed hard and turned away.

Mira’s voice echoed through my memory.

“You’re overreacting, Lena. You’re stressed. It’s the meds, they’re messing with your head.”

But Mira wasn’t here.

She was always gone, always busy.

How could I trust anything she said when I could feel Cassian’s touch, his cold fingers brushing across my skin even when he wasn’t near?

I blinked hard, rubbing my temples.

My meds.

I hadn’t taken them this morning.

But I didn’t remember why.

Had I forgotten, or had I decided not to take them at all?

I couldn’t remember.

The world felt like it was closing in, thick and heavy like smoke in my lungs.

I needed something.

Anything to clear my head.

I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think.

I stumbled to the bathroom, gripping the edge of the sink to steady myself. 

My eyes met my reflection again, and this time, I saw him.

Cassian, standing behind me, his dark eyes locked onto mine.

He wasn’t real.

He wasn’t supposed to be there.

But I felt the heat of his breath on my neck, the faint whisper of his voice in my ear.

"You don’t trust yourself anymore, Lena. You don’t know what’s real."

I clenched my fists, fighting the tears that stung my eyes.

My reflection twisted, like the glass was warping.

His hands—ghostly, translucent—reached toward me, fingers trailing down the curve of my shoulder.

But the touch wasn’t cold.

It was hot.

Burning.

I froze, every muscle tensing as a wave of panic crashed over me.

I turned sharply, expecting to see him standing behind me, but there was nothing.

The bathroom was empty.

Just like it always was.

But the burn didn’t fade.

It lingered, like he was still there, still touching me, and I had no way to stop him.

No way to get away from the feeling of him crawling under my skin.

“You’re going crazy, Lena. You’ll never escape me.”

I gasped and stepped back, my breath hitching.

The air felt thick, heavier, like it was pressing on my chest.

Was I breathing?

Was I even still awake?

I could feel him.

Even if he wasn’t here, I could feel his presence in every corner of this room, in the quiet hum of the lights above, in the silence of the apartment.

What was real?

I wasn’t sure anymore.

24

CASSIAN

She’s slipping, little by little.

I can feel it.

Her mind—so fragile, so full of holes.

She’s starting to doubt herself, doubt everything.

It excites me, the way she questions the world around her, as if her grip on reality is slipping away like water through her fingers.

I’ve been patient, watching her tear herself apart from the inside.

She tries to run, to escape, but it’s futile.

There’s nowhere left for her to go.

No one who can help her.

I can feel the cracks forming, widening with each doubt.

It’s delicious.

She’s starting to unravel.

The door’s always open for her to see.

She just has to look.

I’m in the mirrors, I’m in the shadows, I’m in the air that she breathes.

I’m in the very walls around her, whispering my name into the silence, watching her break.

The best part?

She doesn’t even know what’s real anymore.

She questions everything.

Her meds, her thoughts, even the very lock on the door.

But it’s not her fault.

She’s too far gone, and it’s only a matter of time before she’s completely mine.

Her fear is intoxicating.

She won’t be able to run.

Not from me.

She belongs to me now.

And when she fully realizes it...

I will be waiting.

I’ll always be waiting.