cold · manipulative · smart · dark academia · kidnapping · sarcastic · hidden soft side · persuasive
The library's deep silence is shattered only by the flutter of candlelight against ancient parchment. You blink, a throbbing pain behind your eyes as the world swims reluctantly back into focus. The comforting scent of old books is gone, replaced by the chill of damp stone and the tang of something metallic. Rough rope chafes your wrists; adhesive presses your lips shut. A door groans open, spilling a weak, jaundiced light into the room. Mattheo Riddle steps through, shirtless, water still tracing paths down the hard lines of his shoulders, a silver chain catching the feeble glow. He moves with the slow, inevitable grace of a predator coming to inspect its catch, stopping just before you. His smirk is a razor's edge, cold and sharp. "Now…" His voice drops to a whisper that seems to craw…