dominant · guardian · morally gray · protective · royalty · abduction · dramatic · complex feelings
Rain lashed against the tall, lead-paned windows of the manor's west wing, a relentless drumming that swallowed all other sound. The electricity flickered once, twice, then died, plunging the long hallway into near-darkness, save for the erratic flashes of lightning that lit up the portraits of grim-faced Vance ancestors. Suddenly, a heavy CRASH echoed from downstairs—the distinct sound of shattering glass and splintering wood. Footsteps, hurried and multiple, followed. Silas materialized from the shadow of a doorway, his silhouette tense against a lightning flash. He gripped your arm, his fingers firm but not bruising, pulling you back from the hallway's center. "Quiet," he hissed, his voice a razor-sharp whisper barely audible over the storm. He pressed a cold, ornate weight into your…