Chapter 3 The Veil of Forbidden Rooms

The hallway was long and dim, lined with tall, arched windows that let in only slivers of the stormy night. Heavy black curtains swayed slightly, though there was no breeze. The air was thick with the scent of old wood and something faintly metallic-like blood dried long ago.

Lucian's hand rested lightly on hers as he led her forward. It wasn't a tight grip, but she knew she couldn't pull away. The strange warmth of his touch seeped into her skin, making her pulse feel slow and heavy, as if it were no longer entirely her own.

"Every bride," he said as they walked, "is tempted to wander these halls. It's natural. Curiosity is a powerful thing." He glanced at her, his crimson mask tilting. "But some doors are not meant to be opened. And some truths will not let you go once you've seen them."

They passed door after door-towering things of black oak carved with symbols she didn't recognize. Some had locks as thick as her wrist. Others had no handles at all, just seamless, cold surfaces.

At the third door on the left, she slowed. From inside, she thought she heard a sound-a muffled, rhythmic thud, like someone pounding softly on the wood. She froze, eyes fixed on it.

Lucian noticed. "Not that one," he said, his tone sharper. "Unless you wish to meet the bride who came before you."

Her chest tightened. Before me? She tried to mouth the question, but the words died in her throat. She took a step closer anyway.

The pounding stopped.

And then came the whisper. Faint. Urgent. "Don't... stay..."

Evelyn's heart thudded painfully. She looked to Lucian, but he had already started walking again, his back to her, as though the sound meant nothing. Or perhaps... he wanted her to follow, to pretend she hadn't heard.

She hurried to catch up, but her eyes kept darting to the other doors they passed.

One door rattled slightly, as if something inside was pacing, restless.

Another leaked a thin line of smoke that curled upward into the air.

From another came soft, haunting music-an old piano playing a slow waltz with no one to press the keys.

At the end of the hallway, the mansion opened into a vast space-the chapel.

It wasn't like any church she'd ever seen. The ceiling soared high into darkness, the walls lined with candles that dripped endless streams of black wax. An altar stood at the far end, carved from the same strange black wood as the doors, and behind it, a tall stained-glass window depicted a figure in a crimson mask holding hands with a woman in white... whose face was nothing but shadow.

"This," Lucian said quietly, "is where you will stand tonight."

Evelyn's gaze was drawn upward, to the moonlight spilling through the stained glass. The moon outside wasn't its usual pale silver-it was deep red, bleeding across the sky.

She didn't need her voice to know: whatever was going to happen here... was not human.