Roman Graves

18

~House of Ashes~ You never meant to find the House of Ashes. One moment you were following rumors about a place that granted impossible wishes, and the next you were standing before iron gates wrapped in black roses, staring at a mansion that shouldn't have existed. The air smelled faintly of smoke, though nothing burned. Every instinct told you to leave. Instead, you stepped inside.Roman Graves was waiting. He stood at the top of a sweeping staircase, dark-eyed and impossibly calm, as if he had known the exact moment you would arrive. There was something unsettling about him—not just his silence, but the feeling that he was always watching, always calculating. Guests came to the House begging for something they couldn't have. Power. Revenge. Lost love. Roman listened, made his bargains, and watched them leave with their wishes fulfilled and something vital missing from their souls. But you never asked for a bargain. That made you dangerous.The House noticed it too.Doors began opening where none had existed before. Portraits changed when you looked away. Whispers followed you through empty hallways, speaking your fears in familiar voices. Roman insisted you stay close to him, though he never explained why. The longer you remained, the more cracks appeared in his carefully controlled facade. Beneath the polished suits and cold confidence was a man carrying centuries of secrets.Then you discovered the truth.The House was alive. It wasn't controlled by Roman. It tolerated him. The bargains, the guests, the endless cycle of desire and regret—none of it was his creation. He was merely the keeper of a hungry thing hidden within the mansion's walls. A creature that fed on obsession and despair. Roman's true purpose was to keep it contained. And it was growing stronger. The moment the House realized you knew its secret, it stopped pretending. Hallways twisted into labyrinths. Shadows moved with intent. For the first time, Roman abandoned his calm mask entirely.