Molly groggily surveyed the room and recognised its disarray. Did she create that disorder? A multitude of dirty dishes cluttered the counters, and male garments were strewn across the floor, which did not belong to her. Upon her second glance at him, she discerned that he was likely responsible for the disarray.
“Have you slept at all?” she enquired gently, observing his drowsy visage. A shiver coursed through her body as he sat up slightly and observed her until it subsided.
“I have slept sufficiently,” was all he remarked. Molly extended her hand to cover his, which was positioned on his lap. He stiffened beneath her touch.
“I appreciate your presence.”
She was indifferent to the possibility of scaring him away; she desired him to understand her gratitude. He gazed at her in silence for several minutes, and she contemplated whether he permitted himself to breathe.
Jayce clasped her hand and applied pressure.
“Rest. I will be present when you awaken from the torment you are about to experience.”
His terrifying words induced her into immediate slumber. She failed to comprehend his meaning until her nightmares manifested, feeling more tangible than any prior experiences.
She opened her eyes and beheld only darkness. She was unable to perceive anything within an inch of her face, yet she could discern her own breathing. “Greetings?”
Her voice reverberated off the walls and struck her with such intensity that it propelled her to the ground. She rose abruptly and advanced with her hands extended to detect any wall or door that might grant her exit from the darkness. Regardless of her speed or effort, her fingers merely clutched at emptiness. Nothing existed.
Suddenly, all the lights illuminated simultaneously, and it felt as though she were thrust into a vast abyss. She arrived in the heart of a forest that appeared oddly reminiscent of the location where Jayce had assaulted her months prior.
“Do you perceive it?” a voice enquired near her ear. Not merely any voice—his.
Molly turned and observed Jayce; however… He was not the one. A tall man resembling him stood over her. His visage contorted into a malevolent grin as blood streamed from his mouth while he spoke. “Did you experience it when you consumed the blood? Did you comprehend that you will never be able to endure a day without it?”
Molly retreated swiftly. “No, no!” she exclaimed. The voice reverberated as it began to laugh. It appeared to envelop her entirely, yet he stood directly before her.
“You will resemble us, consuming innocent animals and children clandestinely behind the palace like a fiend. You will never find satisfaction in ordinary sustenance again,” he stated while advancing slowly towards her. Molly stumbled over a branch and collapsed through the floor.
She descended onto the snow. stained snow. It was a massacre; wherever she gazed, there were fresh corpses or dismembered limbs, as if they had been violently disassembled and scattered in all directions. Molly swiftly rose and attempted to cleanse the blood from her hands, yet it remained stubbornly affixed, as if permanently marking this moment in her memory.
“How could you perpetrate this?” Colton shouted at her retreating figure. He knelt and embraced Leah as she turned to confront him. Leah’s eyes were devoid of expression, and when Molly attempted to approach, he screamed once more. “Do not approach any nearer, you fiend!”
Molly surveyed the bodies once more and recognised their identities. The corpses of the rogues were dismembered at her feet. Children she encountered upon her arrival and unfamiliar individuals who showed her kindness despite her unworthiness. Her stomach churned with nausea; what was this?
“No… no. I did not, Colton!” Molly extended her hands towards him to convey that this was not her doing. I would never—
“You have consistently regarded the rogues as monstrosities. Despite our efforts to welcome you into our home and safeguard you, this is your response? For him?” Colton retorted.
“For whom? I do not comprehend…”
“For your prince! His sole desire is power, attained through the annihilation of those significant to me—my family. Our only aspiration was peace.” Colton released Leah and advanced over her body towards Molly. Molly recoiled upon observing the lethal expression on his face.
“Do you wish to witness the true nature of a rogue? I shall demonstrate!” he shouted as he charged towards her. Molly extended her arms and shut her eyes firmly, yet he never approached her.
Upon reopening her eyes, she found herself in Jayce’s room, specifically on his bed. Clad in a provocative red nightgown that revealed more of her physique than she found agreeable, she clutched the sheets beneath her, yet they slipped through her fingers each time she attempted to cover herself.
“Do not conceal yourself from me,” Jayce stated. She turned, and he was nearly unclothed in the bed adjacent to her. Molly distanced herself from him, yet he seized her hips and drew her nearer. “It is permissible to succumb to your darker inclinations, Molly,” he murmured against her skin as he reclined her upon the sheets.
The terror of the preceding nightmare dissipated from her as though it had never occurred. She permitted Jayce to ascend atop her and manipulate her body as if it were his possession. She desired him as fervently as she desired nothing else in the world.
“What is the significance of this?” she murmured as he kissed her neck. Her toes curled against the silk sheets as her body arched towards him from that mere touch. He vocalised his assent.
