Gothic arches twisted overhead, draped in thorned vines heavy with pale, ghostly flowers. The air was cool and fragrant, laced with a sweetness that felt both alive and unsettling.

Caligo’s arm slipped around mine, steady and sure.

We walked slowly beneath the moonlight, shadows dancing on cobblestones worn smooth by forgotten footsteps.

I kept my gaze fixed on the ground, heart pounding in a rhythm I couldn’t yet name.

There was fear—yes—but also something else.
A quiet fascination with the mystery he carried, the way his presence both unsettled and grounded me.

“Why here?” I finally asked, voice barely above the night’s whisper.

He glanced at me, eyes reflecting that same silver light. “Because this place knows what you are. It is a fragment of the Masquerade’s soul, like a mirror for your own.”

I shivered, half from the cool night air, half from the strange weight pressing down on my chest—the weight of his words, heavy and inexplicable.

“It’s beautiful,” I breathed, barely louder than the hush of the wind through the garden.

Caligo’s gaze settled on me, fathomless and still—like ink poured into a well with no bottom, no end.

“Not as beautiful as you,” he said.
_________
🖤 Featuring stories from:
C.N. Noble
Sophea Chan
Rae Summers
Toni Cabell
Ima Ghoul
Crystal Frost

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