The clank of metal echoed through the prison corridor as Mia and little Scarlett were escorted forward. The air was cold, heavy with the metallic scent of despair. Scarlett's small hand clung to Mia's fingers until the guard opened a heavy iron door.
Inside, Ryan stood — pale, shadowed, his once-sharp aura softened by confinement. The cell light flickered above him like a dying candle flame.
Scarlett hesitated only a heartbeat, then ran to him.
Her voice broke like crystal:
"Dad, I love you so much!"
Ryan dropped to one knee and caught her, breath hitching. Tears gathered in his eyes like stormwater.
"You're not bad, are you, Dad?" she whispered, face buried in his neck.
The question wounded him more sharply than any sentence the court had pronounced.
His voice came low, trembling:
"I was terrible, my princess. That is why I am here."
Scarlett tightened her arms around him with fierce devotion.
"Then I'll be bad too. I want to be like you."
A crack formed in Ryan's chest. Fear — ancient, primal — surged through him.
"No," he whispered urgently. "You are love. Your mother and I adore you. You must never follow my darkness."
Scarlett glanced at Mia, expression softening with innocence.
"And I love you both to the end of the universe."
Mia stepped closer, kneeling beside them. Ryan swallowed hard.
"Promise me you'll be good. Promise me you'll never walk my path."
"I promise... but..." Scarlett shivered."The lady frightens me."
Mia stiffened. "The lady? Georgiana?"
Scarlett shook her head slowly. Her voice fell to a tremor:
"No... the lady who comes at night. She says I must slice people and drink their blood."
A frigid silence descended. Ryan felt ice crawl up his spine.
His voice was strained:
"Describe her."
"Tall... black hair... beautiful. Terrifying."
Ryan's blood ran cold.
"Alexandra."
He looked at Mia with panic simmering beneath calm.
"Contact Rowena immediately. Scarlett's powers are a beacon — Alexandra wants them. We must seal them. If it's possible at all."
Mia nodded, pale. "Brisa saw something too. I'll go tonight."
Elsewhere, Theolinda stood trembling in a bathroom, staring down at two faint pink lines.
For a moment, the world held its breath.
"Two lines... we're having a baby."
Her voice trembled with joy and dread alike.
Mia arrived at Rowena's home beneath a sky bruised with twilight. The air hummed with unseen forces. Warm herbs and candle smoke greeted her like an embrace.
"How is your grandmother?" Rowena asked gently.
"Recovering. My mother's in London helping."
Rowena nodded softly — then her expression sharpened.
"Tell me why you have come after nightfall."
Mia inhaled shakily.
"We need to suppress Scarlett's abilities."
Rowena listened in still silence as the truth spilled out. When Mia finished, the older woman's face was grave.
"I cannot do this. But I know who can. Kerrigan Flameward — Supreme Matriarch of the Order Sapientiae Antiquae."
"The order Theolinda's father belonged to?"
"Yes."
She dialed. The voice that answered was cool as moonlight.
"Ask your favor."
Rowena spoke. Mia added her trembling plea.
Kerrigan responded, voice as ancient as cathedral stone:
"I cannot remove her power. Only bind it until she reaches consent. It is perilous. Her spirit may weaken. Her body may fade. But power in one so young is a beacon — predators come."
Mia's voice cracked:
"Alexandra will take her."
A breath of dread crossed the line.
"Alexandra Dominy? Then we act. I arrive tomorrow. Guard the child. Never let her sleep alone."
Scarlett curled in her bed, clutching Mr. Bear, whispering to him under a blanket of trembling stars:
"Don't leave me. When you go, she comes. The lady with the shadow-voice."
Xena peeked in, her face bathed in soft lamplight.
"Ready to sleep, sweetheart?"
Scarlett nodded solemnly.
"I love you, Xena."
A soft kiss. A quiet prayer. Then Xena vanished down the stairs to dinner with Brisa.
The house felt suddenly far too large. Far too dark.
Theolinda shared her news. Ethel, glittering with old-money pride and gothic excitement, embraced her daughter tightly.
"I knew he would not fail."
They spoke of lives and legacies, of secrets and bloodlines. When Theolinda left, her footsteps faded like the echo of destiny.
Alone in her chamber, Ethel whispered:
"An heir of our line at last. Ryan's true child."
Then her gaze turned cold and calculating.
"I must meet Mia Richardson. And her daughter."
She rang her bell.
Bertram appeared — handsome, devoted, pale as ivory beneath soft lamplight.
"Prepare my chambers. Tonight, we celebrate."
"As you wish, my lady."
His bow was as reverent as a worshipper before an altar. In his eyes — loyalty, desire, and perhaps a hint of dread.
YOU ARE READING
DAGON MANSION
Paranormal(THE DAGON SAGA 2) DAGON MANSION IS THE SEQUEL TO FORESTVALE MANOR, A STORY WITH OVER 4.7 K VIEWS. Mia moves to the mysterious Dagon Mansion, haunted by a long-lost past. With her daughter Scarlett at her side, Mia takes on her inner battle against...
