Page 244 of Bound By Crimson
It was brighter than she remembered—sun filtering through dust-coated windows, illuminating the old wood and forgotten things.
She scanned the walls.
Left. Right. Far end.
Where is it? Is there another door?
She moved carefully, eyes skimming every inch of old wood, looking for anything—a seam, a rope, a panel.
Then—
A voice.
From below.
“Oh, you vile girl. You never learn.”
Lyric spun.
She crept back to the stairs, peered down—
Editha.
Standing at the base. Looking up.
Hands folded. Smile venomous.
“Come down here at once!”
Lyric’s heart thudded in her chest, but she stood her ground.
Her hands fisted in the thick fabric of the cardigan.
The metal of the locket pressed cool against her chest—a tether, an anchor.
Editha’s voice rose.
“Did you hear me? I said come down at once!”
Lyric stepped back from the stairwell.
“How about you come up here?”
She said it calmly. But her voice carried steel.
A flicker of something passed over Editha’s face.
Fear?
Just as Eden wrote—she hated the attic.
But then Editha straightened. Smiled.
Cruel and composed.
She held up a small iron key.
“Suit yourself.”
