smilingelza1
- Reads 7,238
- Votes 122
- Parts 18
1st In #dark 2026 May 26
"Going somewhere, sweetheart?"
I spun around and ran the other direction-straight into Soren, who caught me around the waist with a laugh.
"Gotcha, marshmallow."
"Let GO-"
He spun us, and suddenly I was facing the opposite direction, and Riven was there, and they were on either side of me, and I could feel the heat radiating off both of them like a wall.
"This way," Riven said softly, his hand finding the small of my back and guiding me forward. Not grabbing. Not forcing. Just... directing. Like I didn't have a choice.
Because I didn't.
They herded me through the mansion like sheepdogs with a wayward lamb-Soren on my left, Riven on my right, their hands barely touching me but their presence inescapable. Every time I tried to veer off course, they closed the gap, subtle and seamless, until we reached the one room I'd been hoping to avoid.
Ezren's study.
The door was already open. Warm light spilled out into the dark hallway, and inside, Ezren sat behind his massive desk, his fingers steepled, his gray eyes watching me with the kind of patience that was far more terrifying than anger.
Kael stood by the window, his expression unreadable.
"Sit her down," Ezren said quietly.
They did. Soren guided me into the leather chair across from Ezren's desk, and Riven moved to stand behind it, his hands resting on the back of the chair-on either side of my head, caging me without touching.
I was surrounded.
"Now," Ezren said, his voice calm and measured. "Would you like to explain why you're communicating with a boy we explicitly told you to stay away from? Or should I just check your phone myself?"
"It's none of your business who I text-"
"It is literally our business." He leaned forward. "You are our business, Lavana. Every person you talk to. Every place you go. Every breath you take. That is not up for debate."
"That's psychotic!"
"That's protection."
"That's obsession."