Until the World Falls Down

Chapter 5

5

W hat…?

“What are you talking about?” I asked, trying to pull my arm away, but Enver’s fingers tightened around it.

“You have been so compliant, Nell. I hope you continue to be,” he said, and I noticed his voice sounded different. Cold and distant. No longer coaxing. As if he was no longer trying to lure me in. As if he already had me. “Although, either way, you have already consented.”

“Consented?” I repeated, the air in the room chilly against my bare skin. “Consented to what?”

“That depends on your choice,” he told me, releasing my wrist and stepping away to circle me slowly, like a predator stalking its prey.

I took a shallow breath, unmoving and unnerved as he positioned himself behind me. “My choice?”

“You could remain here. With me.” His lips brushed my ear, making my skin prickle. “I told you I would give you everything you ever wanted. I did not lie. Anything you wish for will be yours. ”

His words hung the air, and his presence behind me became suffocating as the uneasiness settled deeper. Something wasn’t right.

I needed to leave.

“And my other choice?” I asked, my voice shaking as my eyes darted to the only other door in the room.

It had to be the exit. If I could make it out of the room, I could flag down the hotel staff if I had to. I didn’t want to believe Enver would hurt me, but anxiety crept through my veins. I didn’t really know this man. I’d followed him here without any regard for my safety—an oversight I regretted now.

“You take on my labyrinth,” he said, moving in front of me again, hand skimming across my waist. “Make your way through it. Conquer it. You could still get what you want from it, too… just at more of a cost.”

Labyrinth?

I studied his face for a moment, the seriousness of his tone sinking in when I found no trace of humor in his expression. A nervous laugh escaped me. “A labyrinth? I don’t think there’s anything like that around here.”

Enver tilted his head, his gaze cool and detached. Nothing like the man I’d just spent the night with. “You are already in it,” he told me. “You are in my castle.”

Castle?

Oh, God. That settled it. I’d slept with a maniac.

My weight shifted on my feet, my muscles tensing, ready to spring into action. I just had to make it to the door. I glanced at it again, preparing myself.

But I’d barely lifted my foot before Enver’s rough voice cut through the air, halting my movements. “I advise against running from me. You will not get very far.”

I complied at first, my foot returning to the floor. His expression relaxed.

Then I twisted on my heel and bolted for the door .

He didn’t move to stop me, and my heart pounded from adrenaline as I raced across the room, my bare feet slapping against the polished wood. I reached for the handle, wrenching it open as I looked behind me, seeing Enver still standing by the wardrobe. My chest tightened in triumph. I could escape and never have to see him again?—

My foot met nothing as I stepped outside the room and into pure darkness, not the hotel hallway that I thought would be on the other side of the door. Unable to stop my momentum, I pitched forward, completely losing my footing. I shrieked in fear, and my hands flew out in an attempt to grasp anything that could keep me from plummeting into the nothingness. But I only met the air as it rushed by me, sinking me further into the dark.

Panic clawed at my chest, but before I could cry out again, my fall came to an abrupt halt as silky tendrils wrapped around my body, enclosing my waist, wrists, and ankles in their hold, suspending me in the dark void.

“I warned you,” Enver tutted softly, appearing at the threshold of the door I’d just fallen through. The dim light behind him framed his silhouette, casting shadows that danced across his features. “Do not attempt to run from me again.”

Frozen in fear, I could only stare up at him, my chest heaving. Whatever held on to me moved . It snaked, curling around my arms and legs, featherlight but substantial at the same time. The tendrils tightened their grip and lifted me up toward Enver.

He stepped out of the way, and the light from the room washed over me, allowing me to see the tendrils that held me. Shadows . Physical masses. Swirling around me and cold to the touch. I recognized the feeling. I’d felt them before—on my body, holding my wrists down, sliding between my legs. I started struggling again, frantic to get out of their grip.

The shadows placed me on my feet again, and I nearly collapsed when they released me, my body quaking so severely I could barely stand. Enver reached for my towel, pulling it up where it’d slipped down. I jerked back, nearly falling out of the room again, but the shadows braced me, keeping me upright. I stumbled away from them, but it only brought me closer to Enver again, and I forced myself to stay still. “Who are you?” I asked him shakily. “ What are you?”

“My name is Enver,” he replied, lifting his hand to trail his fingers along my jaw. “And I will be whoever you want me to be. Whatever you want me to be. Your lover, your master, your thrall. Even your god.”

“Stop,” I said, even though my body yearned to lean into his touch. It was a strange feeling. I wanted to run away from him, but there was another part of me that wanted him closer, wanted his hands on my body again. “Don’t,” I added, unsure if I was talking to him or myself.

His hand fell back to the side, but his gaze hardened.

“Where am I?” I demanded.

“My home,” he answered simply.

“And where is that?”

“I will answer all your questions,” he said, eyes raking down my body before meeting mine again, “after we dress.”

I wanted to argue that he would answer them now, but I also didn’t want to remain in only a towel. I felt too exposed. And the shadows surrounding me had put a chill in me I couldn’t shake. “Where’s my dress?”

“That attire will not suit you here, I assure you.”

“I want my dress,” I said, my voice strained.

Not even a second later, my dress hung before my face, dangling from a twisting shadow.

I flinched, and I swore one shadow stroked my hand in a soothing manner as I snatched my dress from it. I shuddered, my mind reeling. What was happening? Was I dreaming? This couldn’t be real, could it? But everything had felt real. Enver’s touch, the shadows, the way my heart raced in my chest.

I took a careful step away from the shadows, eyeing them warily. “What are these things?”

“They will not harm you. Not unless I will them to.”

My head snapped back to Enver. “Are you trying to tell me you control shadows right now?”

Enver tilted his head. “I said I would answer questions after we dress.”

Gritting my teeth, I turned my back to him as I dropped my towel and slipped my dress over my head. I didn’t want to believe anything I was seeing, but it was hard to fight against the proof right in front of my eyes. “This is insane,” I whispered to myself, reaching around my back to zip my dress up.

Enver’s hand brushed mine aside as he took the zipper from me, his knuckles grazing my bare back. “For what it is worth, you are coming to terms with this far more easily than others in your situation have.”

I tensed as he swept my hair away from my neck to zip me up. “You’ve done this to others?”

“Yes,” he replied, not moving his hand away, his fingers curling around my neck. Not tight enough to feel threatening, but enough that I could feel the weight of his palm against my skin. “There have been hundreds before you and there will be hundreds more.”

My stomach rolled, nausea creeping through me.

“But I have let none of them touch me as you have touched me,” he continued, his voice lowering, breath caressing my skin as he leaned forward to place a chaste kiss on the shell of my ear. “And I have tasted none as I have tasted you.”

Once more, conflicting reactions shot through me. I hated this, but I also couldn’t deny the goosebumps that broke out across my skin at his touch and words. I slowly turned toward him again, his hand sliding from the back of my neck around to my throat. His fingers pressed in just a little as he watched me, his face unreadable.

“Are you going to hurt me?” I asked.

“No, my little lover. I will not hurt you.”

“What do you want from me?”

He released me but said nothing else. He crossed the room back to his wardrobe, opened it, and pulled out a fresh set of clothing. I watched as he put his arms through a black silk shirt, leaving it open as he pulled on a pair of black slacks, forgoing any underwear.

“Let us discuss the rest over a meal,” Enver said, striding back to me.

“No, I?—”

“I will not poison it. But if you are concerned, I will taste everything first.”

That wasn’t what I cared about, but I could already tell there was no way out of this. Not without Enver’s permission. Not when he or his shadows could force me to do what he wanted, anyway. If I wanted to have any chance at escaping, I needed to be compliant for now. “Fine. I need to use the restroom first, though.”

He gestured back toward the bathroom. “Of course.”

After using the bathroom, and searching and failing for an escape there, I reluctantly went back out through the door. But it wasn’t Enver’s bedroom I stepped back into. Instead, it was a grand dining hall. I looked around wildly, taking in the elegant tapestries decorating the walls, the tall, arched windows made of stained glass, and the sprawling dining table made of polished mahogany that stretched almost the entire room length.

A wide assortment of food lined the table, from seared meats to flaky pastries, ripe fruits, assorted cheeses. The sheer amount of food was staggering. Yet, no one sat at the table. Empty seat after empty seat lined each side. Stepping closer, I noticed a layer of dust on the back of each elegantly carved chair.

“Have a seat.” A voice came from behind me, and I whirled to see Enver merely a foot away.

“How…” I started, finding myself unsure of how to word my question. “Why isn’t this your bedroom anymore?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Did you want to return to it?”

“No,” I blurted.

A ghost of a smirk flitted across his lips. “The entire castle is under my control. From its shadows to its arrangement. Now sit.”

This time I obeyed him, sitting in the chair closest to the head of the table, where I assumed his normal seat was. It was the only chair without any dust.

The scent of the food wafted around me, mouthwatering and tempting, but I didn’t make any move to eat it. “What are you?” I asked again.

He didn’t answer right away, a flicker of a frown on his face. “The same as you.”

I stared at him.

“Well, presumably older.”

My lips pressed into a tight line. “Humans can’t control shadows.”

He shrugged, reaching for a bowl of fruit, picking up a peach, and examining it. “Nor can they live hundreds of years, yet here I am.”

Hundreds of years? He didn’t look a day over thirty.

“You’re not human,” I protested as he picked up a knife.

He paused, the knife’s point against the flesh of the peach. “Then what am I?”

“I don’t know, but?—”

“No,” he interrupted, slicing the knife into it, eyes still on me. “Tell me. Since you are so certain I am not human, what am I in your eyes? ”

I shook my head. “I… I don’t know.”

He handed me a slice of the peach. Juice dripped down his fingers, and I swallowed reflexively, an image of me taking his fingers into my mouth to clean them entering my mind unbidden. What is wrong with me ?

Forcing the thought away, I reached for the peach but didn’t eat it right away, waiting for him to eat his piece first. “See? Not poisoned,” he said after he swallowed.

“If I eat this, it won’t keep me trapped here, right?”

“No,” he answered, and I ate it, its sweet and tangy taste coating my tongue. He carved another piece out as he spoke again. “You will allow yourself to be trapped here instead.”

I nearly choked. “No, I won’t,” I said as I collected myself. “I’m going to go home. You’re going to let me go home.”

“I cannot,” he said, holding the other piece out to me. “You have already consented.”

I refused it this time. “When did I?”

“Last night. I know you remember. I asked you if you could still think straight.”

The memory finally hit me. “That shouldn’t count! You waited until I was about to…” I couldn’t even bring myself to say the words, my cheeks heating.

“You would have agreed even if I had not done that,” he replied confidently. “You would have agreed the moment I first approached you, had I asked then.”

I wanted to say I wouldn’t have, but deep down, I knew I would have. I would have agreed to anything last night, even if he wasn’t edging me. He’d preyed on my emotional state and taken advantage of it. “What’s stopping you from just letting me go, even if I did consent?” I asked.

“We have something of a contract between us now.” He held up his left hand. “Hold out your left hand.”

I debated about resisting him for exactly two seconds before lifting my hand, holding it out in front of me. Something told me he would have forced me to obey, anyway. As I did, though, I suddenly became aware of a gossamer shadow encircling my ring finger. It sparkled with an ethereal darkness, seeming to pulse with energy as delicate strands wove together, taking the shape of a ring.

I yanked my hand back, startled, and doing so drew my attention to a slender, string-like tendril attached to the ring on my finger, having grown taut with my action. My gaze followed the shimmering string all the way to Enver’s hand, to the shadow that wrapped around his left ring finger in a perfect imitation of the one around mine.

“I cannot just let you go,” he murmured. “You and I are bound until the demands of the labyrinth are fulfilled.”

“I didn’t sign anything, though,” I objected, but my voice lacked any kind of confidence.

The tether between us felt weightless, but I could sense a pull toward him. Were all the contradicting feelings I had because of whatever connection he had created between us? I tried to touch the ring, but my fingers went through the shadowy wisps.

“Not all contracts are created by physical means. Here, they are engraved in shadows. Sealed by whispered consent.” Enver reached out to brush his fingers against mine, and our rings seemed to react to each other, tendrils reaching out for each other. “Or cried out consent, in your case.”

I tried to pull my hand away, but he seized it. “Why a ring?”

“I wonder,” he responded, studying our hands, eyes narrowing briefly before he let go.

Silence stretched between us as my mind raced. I couldn’t doubt this was real. Not with proof right before my eyes. I either remained here forever or took on his labyrinth. I grimaced a bit, my mind still trying to battle with the idea that this wasn’t a twisted dream. But no matter how desperate I’d been last night, I couldn’t abandon my life like this. “These demands of your labyrinth,” I started, settling my hand back into my lap. “What are they? Challenges? All I have to do is complete them, right?”

Enver didn’t respond for a moment, his focus still on the murky ring on his own hand. Then he snapped out of it, looking back at me. “What the demands look like depends on the participant. I cannot tell you what yours will be. The labyrinth will bring you to what you desire most, and after that, you must figure out the rest yourself. But yes, all you have to do is complete it.”

“How many people have completed your labyrinth before?”

“Two.”

“Two? Like, two hundred?” I pressed. “Thousand?”

“Two,” he said again, unequivocally, leaving no room for misinterpretation this time.

It felt like a rock had settled on my chest, crushing the air out of my lungs. Two ? Only two out of the hundreds who’d attempted his labyrinth had completed it? How was that possible? What did his labyrinth entail?

“What about the ones who fail? What happens to them?” I asked.

“They become mine. Forever.”

His words echoed in my ears, sending a shudder through my body. The possessiveness in his voice was unmistakable. “Yours?” I repeated. “As in?”

“As in, they serve me in any way I see fit. They are mine to do with as I please, whatever that may be.”

I abruptly stood up from the table, my heart hammering in my chest. The way he spoke, like those who failed his labyrinth were his possessions, made me feel sick. He sounded proud of it, even. Preying on the hopeless, forcing them into his messed-up, twisted world. It was despicable. “I know what you are now.”

His gaze lifted, following my movements. “And what's that? ”

“A monster,” I said, louder than I’d meant to, the word echoing around the empty dining room.

He went still for a moment, and then his eyes narrowed. Neither of us moved. The silence grew, thickening between us, and my skin prickled at the darkening of Enver’s expression, the intensity of his gaze as it burned into mine. “A monster?” he finally spoke, his tone deceptively soft.

I swallowed. “What you’re doing is wrong.”

Enver rose to his feet as well now, the muscles in his jaw tensed. “Is it? They all agreed to it. They knew the risks. The rewards.”

“They agreed to become your—your possessions?” I said in disbelief, backing away from the table, my body screaming at me to run.

“Yes,” he responded, his voice low and hard as he approached me. “Some did not even bother with the labyrinth. Some came crawling to me, begging me to take them. Begging to become mine. To forget everything else and exist only for me.”

I shook my head, my back bumping against the wall as I continued a steady path backward, wanting as much space between Enver and me as possible. “No. No, I don’t believe that. You must have forced them?—”

“I do not force anyone into doing anything,” Enver snapped.

“What do you call this?” I cried.

“An agreement ,” he all but growled, pressing a hand against the wall next to my head, trapping me in.

“You tricked me!”

“You consented. And I have been generous with you. I have given you a choice. One I have never offered anyone else.”

My breath caught in my throat as I realized what he meant. “To become yours? How is that any different from those who failed to beat your labyrinth?”

“Because I would also be yours,” he said, bringing his free hand up to my jaw, grasping it gently. “Entirely. Every breath I take would be for you. Every inch of my being would belong to you. I could be your sanctuary and your undoing. I would give you everything you ever wished for. Follow your every word. Obey your every command. There is nothing I would deny you. Nothing, my little lover—as long as you are mine.”

I found myself unable to breathe as Enver leaned in, closing the distance between us, his cheek brushing against mine as he inclined his head, his lips now ghosting over the skin of my ear. My eyes fluttered shut, his sweet promises weaving into my mind, ensnaring me in their grasp. Wasn’t that what I always wanted? Someone to cherish me? To want me? Entirely and wholly? Enver offered that to me. An eternity of everything I ever dreamed was right here. All I had to do was let go.

“I would unravel the constellations and lay them at your feet,” he promised softly. “I would tear the stars from the sky and build you a throne of stardust and worship you upon it until the end of time. All you have to do is say yes.”

Despite everything, I once again yearned to lean into his touch, to feel his lips on mine.

It would be easy to give in to his promises. To him.

“I would love you,” he breathed into my neck, his arms coming around my waist to drag me against him, his lips now pressing against my throat.

The tension snapped as ice rushed through my veins. His words might have been filled with promise and allure, but I knew his intentions were deceitful and self-serving. I couldn’t fall for it. I pushed against his chest, turning my head away. “Stop it!”

When he stepped back, arms falling away from me, I knew he’d done it by his own will rather than my strength. Like how everything that had happened between us had been done by his design. “Why do you refuse what you are so desperate for?” he asked, his expression cold and distant once more .

Why…

You’ll just go throw yourself at the next person who offers you the slightest bit of affection. You’re desperate for something you don’t even understand.

My hands curled into fists. I wouldn’t prove Julian right. I wouldn’t let Enver take advantage of me.

Enver watched me with a calculating look. “I assume you have made your decision.”

“I’m not yours,” I said, straightening my back, as if appearing taller would add some force to my words. “I won’t ever be yours. I’m going to challenge your labyrinth, and I’m going to overcome it.”

“Your despair is strong, but it seems your will is stronger,” he remarked. “You are welcome to challenge my labyrinth. I will not beg you to become mine. Though, the result will be the same as all the others, my little lover. You will be mine in the end.”

“I won’t,” I responded, my hands clenching into fists. The shadow ring on my finger settled coolly against my palm, a stark reminder of what I had to lose if I failed. “Tell me how to begin the labyrinth.”

His gaze flicked to the door behind me. “Exit this room, and you will find yourself at the entrance. Make your way back up to me. Do that, and you succeed.”

I waited for more information, but he stayed silent. “That’s it?” I prompted.

He tilted his head in mock consideration. “I suppose, for someone as committed as you, I can do something more. You may have forty-eight hours to complete it.”

Forty-eight hours? Was that supposed to be a lot of time? “How much time do you usually give people?” I asked, nervous now.

“I do not give anyone else time limits.”

My eyes widened. “What? That’s not fair?— ”

“You claim I am a monster for what I have done,” he said, cutting me off as he pressed closer again, his voice dropping dangerously. “I would rather be a monster on my own terms.”

My heart hammered frantically as he reached for the door handle behind me, my nose brushing against the silk of his shirt. “I didn’t?—”

He swung the door open. “Your time begins now.”