Page 6

FIVE

SERAPHINA

S eraphina awoke with a gasp, and her mind immediately started racing to process her surroundings.

Sunlight filtered through gauzy white curtains that danced on a salt-tinged breeze.

She lay beneath crisp linens on an enormous four-poster bed, the dark mahogany frame carved with intricate patterns of what appeared to be stars and moons.

"What the hell?" she whispered, her voice startling in the quiet room.

Her fingers traced the Egyptian cotton sheets—definitely not the bargain-bin cotton she had at home. A crystal vase filled with exotic flowers she couldn't name sat on an ornate nightstand beside her. Their scent—bold and intoxicating—mingled with the fresh ocean air.

The ocean.

Seraphina pushed herself up against plush pillows, wincing at the dull throb in her head. The windows were open, revealing a panoramic view of turquoise waters stretching to the horizon as the sun began its descent, painting the sky in shades of amber and rose.

"I'm not in Miami anymore," she muttered, memories flooding back. The broken window. The shadowy figure in her home. That horrifying vision of wolves tearing through crowds of screaming people.

She pressed her palms to her eyes. "Get yourself together."

A logical explanation existed. There had to be one. Science didn't allow for wolf monsters or psychic visions or... whatever this was.

Her gaze darted around the room—tastefully decorated with art that looked expensive enough to fund her research for years. Polished hardwood floors spread beneath a plush area rug. A door that presumably led to a bathroom stood ajar, revealing marble fixtures.

"If I've been kidnapped, this is the nicest prison cell in history," she said to the empty room.

The windows weren't barred, but peering out from her position on the bed, she could tell she was fairly high up. Jumping out the window meant death or, at minimum, shattered legs.

Her mind churned through possibilities. Had she been drugged? Was this some elaborate setup?

"Think scientifically," she told herself, trying to quell the panic bubbling in her chest. "Observe. Gather data."

The sun sinking toward the horizon suggested it was early evening.

She'd been unconscious for hours. She laughed at the absurdity of her situation, the sound coming out slightly hysterical.

Yesterday, her biggest concern had been turning thirty without having a more adventurous lifestyle.

Now, she was having visions, possibly developing psychic abilities, and waking up in what looked like a luxury island resort.

"Be careful what you wish for," she sighed, thinking about her silent birthday wish last night, wishing for something exciting to happen to her.

She swung her legs over the side of the bed, her bare feet meeting the cool hardwood floors. Her yellow sundress was wrinkled but intact—the same outfit she'd worn for her walk on the beach. She steadied herself against a wave of dizziness before taking better stock of her surroundings.

The bedroom was more opulent than she'd initially realized.

The walls were painted a deep midnight blue, adorned with what appeared to be constellations picked out in silver leaf.

As an astronomer, she couldn't help but notice they were accurate—Cassiopeia, Orion, and the Big Dipper all precisely mapped as they would appear in the northern hemisphere's winter sky.

"Someone did their research," she murmured, tracing a finger along the silver stars. "Or they're really into astronomy."

A massive armoire stood against one wall, its doors inlaid with mother-of-pearl moons. She opened it cautiously, revealing rows of women's clothing. Her size. Her preferred style.

"Okay, that's creepy," she whispered, closing the doors with a soft click.

The en suite bathroom gleamed with marble and gold fixtures. Thick towels hung from heated rails, and the shower was stocked with expensive products.

Back in the bedroom, she surveyed for potential weapons. A brass lamp? Too unwieldy. A letter opener by the desk? Too flimsy. Her gaze landed on a heavy silver candlestick atop the mantelpiece—substantial enough to do damage if necessary.

"This will have to do," she said, gripping it firmly. Its weight was reassuring in her palm.

She suddenly remembered her phone and patted her dress, finding the tiny pocket that still held her slim smartphone. Relief washed over her until she pressed the power button. Nothing.

"Dead. Of course, it's dead," she muttered, searching drawers and cabinets for a charging cable. She found stationery, books, even a small sewing kit—but nothing electronic.

"What kind of kidnapper provides Egyptian cotton sheets but no phone charger?"

She approached the door leading out of the suite, adrenaline heightening her senses. With her ear pressed against the cool wood, she listened. Not a sound penetrated from the other side—no voices, no footsteps, nothing.

"Here goes nothing," she whispered, gripping the candlestick tighter as she tested the door handle.

To her surprise, it turned easily. Not locked.

Seraphina opened the door a crack, peering into the corridor beyond.

The hallway stretched in both directions, lined with similar doors spaced at regular intervals.

Crystal sconces cast warm light on walls covered in silk damask.

Plush carpet muffled any sound her feet might make.

Like the bedroom suite, everything spoke of wealth and refined taste.

But most striking was the absolute silence. No guards. No captors. No other people at all.

"I'm either in the world's most luxurious abandoned resort or the strangest five-star hotel on earth," she whispered.

She stepped back into her room, leaving the door slightly ajar. "Okay, Sera. First step: figure out where you are. Second step: figure out who brought you here. Third step: get home without being eaten by wolf monsters."

She ventured back into the hallway, her bare feet sinking into the lush carpeting as she moved.

The corridors twisted and turned, revealing the building to be far more extensive than she'd initially imagined.

Tapestries depicting forest scenes and night skies adorned stone walls, while sconces cast flickering amber light that danced across ancient-looking wooden beams overhead.

"This isn't a resort—it's a castle," she whispered aloud, running her fingers along the cool stone wall.

She peeked into rooms as she passed: a music room with a grand piano positioned before floor-to-ceiling windows, a library with shelves that soared two stories high, and a formal dining room with a table long enough to seat forty people. Each space was immaculately maintained but eerily vacant.

The scientific part of her brain attempted to catalog every detail, searching for patterns or clues. The astronomer in her couldn't help but notice celestial motifs repeated throughout—star-shaped door handles, crescent moon carvings on furniture legs, and constellation patterns woven into rugs.

Rounding a corner, Seraphina nearly collided with a young woman hurrying down the hall.

"Oh!" the woman gasped, almost dropping her armload of neatly folded clothing and toiletry items. She took a startled step back, her brown ponytail swinging.

"I'm so sorry," Seraphina said, reaching out instinctively to steady a sliding bottle of what appeared to be expensive shampoo. "I didn't realize anyone else was here."

The woman regained her composure quickly, adjusting her crisp uniform—definitely maid attire, but with an unusual silver emblem pinned at the collar. "No need to apologize, miss. I'm Verna." Her smile seemed genuine if somewhat nervous. "I was just taking these to your quarters."

"My quarters?" Seraphina glanced at the luxurious items. "That's really not necessary. Actually, I'd like to go home right away. Could you tell me who's in charge here?"

Verna's expression flickered with uncertainty. "I can't really say anything about that, miss. I'm just following orders to make sure you have everything you need."

"Orders from whom?" Seraphina pressed, trying to keep the desperation from her voice.

"I can't say, miss." Verna shifted her burden, her eyes filled with wariness. "These really should be delivered to your room. If you'll excuse me."

Verna slipped past her, continuing down the corridor toward the room Seraphina had awakened in. Seraphina watched her go, torn between following to extract more information and continuing her exploration. The maid clearly wasn't going to share any information right now about Seraphina's situation.

"Maybe she was forbidden to?" Seraphina wondered aloud.

She turned away, pushing deeper into the castle's labyrinth of corridors.

The nautical-tinged breeze suggested they were indeed somewhere by water, and from the little she'd glimpsed through windows, somewhere remote.

The wealth on display was staggering—genuine oil paintings, antique furniture that belonged in museums, and fixtures that gleamed with what seemed to be real gold.

Wherever she was, whoever had brought her here commanded resources far beyond anything she could comprehend.

The thought made her stomach tighten with unease.

What did they want with an astronomer who'd suddenly developed bizarre psychic abilities?

And how had they known to take her just as her life had spiraled into chaos?

Seraphina paused at a tall, arched window overlooking a courtyard below. Manicured gardens stretched toward cliffs that dropped steeply to the sea. Beautiful and remote—a gilded cage.

"I need to find a working phone," she decided. "Or a boat. Or someone who'll actually tell me what's going on."

The castle's silence seemed to mock her determination as she pressed onward, her scientific mind struggling against the growing realization that she might have stumbled into something far beyond the realm of rational explanation.

She turned, and headed down another corridor. She hesitated at a set of double doors at the corridor's end, their surfaces inlaid with silver constellations rendered with scientific precision. She adjusted her grip on the candlestick and pushed the doors open.

Her breath caught. The enormous circular space that greeted her wasn't just a room—it was an astronomer's paradise.

"Oh my god," she whispered, momentarily forgetting her predicament.

The observatory stretched before her like something from a dream.

A massive telescope—larger than any university model she'd ever worked with—dominated the center, its brass fittings gleaming in the dim light.

The cylindrical room rose three stories high, ending in what appeared to be a retractable dome ceiling currently closed against the early evening sky.

Smaller telescopes of various designs stood at intervals around the perimeter, each one more beautiful than the last.

Seraphina moved forward, candlestick temporarily forgotten in her hand, drawn by the gravitational pull of equipment she'd only seen in professional journals and historical texts.

"The refractor alone must be worth millions," she murmured, running her fingertips reverently along the brass tube of the central telescope.

Star charts and celestial maps lined the walls, expertly rendered and framed in dark wood.

A control panel stood near what must be the dome mechanism—complicated enough that she couldn't immediately decipher its operation.

She studied the array of switches and dials, her analytical mind already attempting to decode their functions.

"If I could just get this open," she said, her fingers hovering over what appeared to be the main controls, "the view would be incredible from this height, especially away from city light pollution."

"The third lever opens the eastern quadrant. The fourth, the western." A deep voice reverberated through the observatory.

Seraphina whirled around, the candlestick instinctively raised as a weapon, her heart pounding in her chest.

A man stood in the doorway, his powerful frame silhouetted against the corridor light. As he stepped forward, recognition hit her like a physical blow.

It was him—the stranger from the beach, the one who'd spoken to her before she'd discovered her home had been broken into. The one who'd mentioned "Luna powers." Seraphina backed up against the control panel, her knuckles white around the candlestick.

His features came into sharper focus as he advanced—the strong jawline accentuated by a neatly trimmed beard, the striking gray eyes that seemed to hold centuries of knowledge, and dark gray hair styled meticulously.

Tattoos peeked from beneath the rolled sleeves of his white shirt, intricate designs wrapping around his muscled forearms.

He carried himself with the confident ease of someone who knew his own power and didn't need to flaunt it. Every movement suggested controlled strength like a predator comfortable in his territory.

Another memory flashed through Seraphina's mind—wasn't this the same man from her visions?

"You," she breathed, studying him. "Beach guy. Luna powers guy." She swallowed hard, raising the candlestick higher. "Kidnapper guy?"

Something sparked in his gray eyes, something that almost looked like amusement. He moved with casual grace toward one of the smaller telescopes, adjusting its focus with practiced hands.

"Are you the one who brought me here?" Seraphina pressed, fighting to keep her voice steady. "What is this place? And what do you want with me?"

His gaze lifted from the telescope to meet hers. The air between them seemed to crackle with unspoken energy. But he said nothing. He just continued to stare at her with an expression that oddly resembled longing.