Chapter 58: The legacy room
One by one, the flames on the chandelier candles were extinguishing for natural light to gradually take over.
Silas said nothing and simply walked along the hallway while Arabella followed in his steps, clutching at her stomach as though it hung in place by nothing but a thin thread.
To drown out the deafening screechings in her own head, she resorted to focusing on the distant voices of the daytime staff who'd usually gather in the kitchens before starting their shifts every day.
They glided along the walls as whispers at times and mutters at others, barely intelligible but they sure had the merit of keeping her mind occupied since her other alternative was to... Stare at Silas' back.
The vampire finally halted in front of a specific door on the ground floor. Arabella immediately noted it was the same one they'd used to reach the trophy room the last time he'd invited her to follow him.
The spiraling staircase looked every bit as familiar as the previous time and the scent of... Nothing remained. The illusion that the air had been drained of every and all odor... Or was it an illusion?
That day, instead of stalking the main hallway leading to the trophy room, Silas took a turn that had barely been visible until then, niched in one of the many corners that were governed by the power struggle between the fire of the torches, and the complet darkness that would reign supreme without them.
That one being narrower, Arabella earned the impression those gray walls were closing in on them. She had to make an abrupt stop upon realizing that Silas had done the same in front of her. Once anew, a painting stood between them and what Arabella assumed was their destination. Although this time the art piece seemed to extend endlessly higher in length instead of width like the other one.
It was the portrait of a displeased yet beautiful looking woman. Dressed in a red gown, she glared down at them from where she sat.