The storm outside howled like a starving pack, rattling the tall windows of the living room. Inside, the fire in the fireplace was the only source of light, casting long, warped shadows that seemed to dance along the walls.
Rose and Natalie came down the stairs about an hour later. Natalie looked slightly dazed, her cheeks flushed and her eyes glassy, while Rose descended with the satisfaction of a cat that had just drunk its fill of milk.
"The heating upstairs takes a while to kick in," Rose remarked, guiding Natalie toward the velvet sofa in front of the fire. "Sit here, darling. Stay close to the warmth."
Rose sat beside her — dangerously close. One arm rested along the back of the sofa, her fingers idly playing with a loose strand of Natalie's hair.
Alice, seated stiffly in an armchair beside Kara, tensed. She subtly pulled Kara closer, lacing their fingers together. It was a protective gesture, a physical barrier against her sister's influence.
"You took your time," Alice said flatly.
"The house is big, Alice. So many stories to tell." Rose smiled, but her eyes never left Natalie. "Nat was telling me about her dreams. So… human. So full of hope and fragility."
Natalie laughed, a little too loudly.
"Rose is a great listener. You should give her a chance."
Kara glanced at her friend with concern.
"Nat, do you want some water? You seem a bit—"
"I'm fine!" Natalie cut in, grabbing the leftover bottle of wine from dinner. "It's just that… this funeral atmosphere is killing me. We're stuck in an incredible mansion, in the middle of a snowstorm. We should be having fun!"
"And what do you suggest?" Rose asked, her voice smooth as silk.
"A game!" Natalie looked around, her eyes landing on the empty bottle on the coffee table. "How about Truth or Dare? To break the ice."
Alice shook her head immediately.
"No. That's childish and unnecessary. Let's just—"
"Oh, come on, Alice!" Rose interrupted, her eyes gleaming with mischief. "Afraid of revealing your secrets? Or afraid of what Kara might find out? I think it's a fantastic idea."
Natalie was already placing the bottle in the center of the Persian rug.
"Please, guys. Just a few rounds. If it gets boring, we stop."
Kara looked at Alice. She knew that refusing would only give Rose more ammunition.
"Okay," Kara said. "But no stupid questions."
Rose smiled, settling more comfortably into the sofa.
"I promise to be… creative."
Natalie spun the bottle first. It stopped pointing at Kara.
"Truth or dare?" Natalie asked.
"Truth," Kara chose.
Natalie thought for a moment, trying to keep it light.
"What's the most embarrassing thing you've ever done because of a crush?"
Kara laughed, relieved, and told a quick story from high school. The mood seemed to ease, just a little. Even Alice allowed herself a faint smile.
Then it was Kara's turn to spin. The bottle pointed at Rose.
"Truth," Rose said before Kara could ask.
Kara met her gaze. It was her chance.
"Why did you come here, Rose? Really."
Rose kept smiling, but her eyes turned cold.
"Because family should stick together, Kara. And because I wanted to see, with my own eyes, what made my sister forget who she is for so long."
The answer hung heavy in the air. Alice squeezed Kara's hand.
Rose spun the bottle again — slowly, deliberately. The neck stopped, pointing directly at Kara.
"Well, well…" Rose purred. "Truth or dare, Kara?"
Kara felt the danger. A dare from Rose could be lethal.
"Truth."
Rose leaned forward, her face lit by the flames, becoming a mask of cruel beauty.
"Tell me, Kara… what does it feel like? Knowing that you're temporary?"
Kara frowned.
"What?"
"Mortality," Rose explained, her voice soft and venomous.
"You look at Alice, see her perfect skin, her strength… and you know that in ten, twenty years, you'll start to wither. Your skin will wrinkle, your bones will ache, your mind will falter. And she… she'll stay exactly the same. Beautiful. Eternal."
Alice half rose from her seat.
"Rose, stop."
"Sit down, Alice. It's her turn to answer." Rose never took her eyes off Kara.
"Don't you feel envy? Or fear? Fear that when you're a fragile old woman, she'll have to trade you in for a newer model? Or worse… that she'll have to watch you rot while she remains unchanged?"
The silence was absolute. The question was a surgical blade, cutting straight into the deepest insecurity of any romance between human and immortal.
Kara swallowed the knot in her throat. She looked at Alice, then back at Rose.
"I'm not afraid of time, Rose. Because the time I have with her is real. And I'd rather live a full life and grow old beside the one I love than live an eternity alone and bitter like you seem to be."
Rose laughed, a dry sound.
"A brave answer. Foolish, but brave."
Rose picked up the bottle again. This time, she spun it hard. The glass hummed across the rug and stopped, pointing at Natalie.
Natalie, who had been watching the tension without fully grasping its depth, smiled nervously.
"My turn."
"Truth or dare, Nat?" Rose asked.
Natalie glanced at the empty wine bottle, feeling the courage of the alcohol.
"Dare. Let's spice things up."
Rose's eyes lit up. She turned fully toward Natalie, ending just inches from the girl's face.
"I dare you… to kiss me."
The room froze.
"What?" Alice said sharply. "Rose, no."
"Natalie, you don't have to do this," Kara intervened quickly, leaning forward. "This is ridiculous. The game is over."
Rose ignored them both completely. She kept her gaze locked on Natalie, her pupils dilating, exerting a subtle but powerful charm.
"It's just a game, isn't it, Natalie?" Rose whispered. "You're not afraid of a kiss, are you?"
Natalie looked at Rose's lips. She seemed confused, but also hypnotized. The attraction Rose radiated was almost tangible, a gravitational pull.
"It's… it's just a game," Natalie repeated, her voice airy. "What's the big deal? We're all girls here."
"Nat, don't—" Kara began, but was cut off.
Natalie leaned in. Rose didn't move, only waited, like a spider in her web.
When Natalie's lips touched Rose's, it wasn't a shy peck. Rose brought a hand to the back of Natalie's neck, deepening the contact, turning the kiss into something possessive, slow, and deliberately sensual.
Alice turned her face away, disgusted and furious — then she noticed something.
Rose opened her eyes during the kiss.
While Natalie surrendered to the moment, eyes closed and breath hitching softly, Rose fixed her blue gaze directly on Alice.
There was no passion in Rose's eyes. There was triumph. A sadistic smile curved against Natalie's mouth as Rose held eye contact with her sister. It was a clear, silent, terrifying message:
I can take whatever I want. I can corrupt what you protect. And they'll thank me for it.
Alice clenched her fists so hard her nails pierced her palms, the faint, discreet scent of her own blood mingling with the smell of desire and danger that Rose exuded.
Rose finally released Natalie, who stumbled back, breathless, touching her own lips, stunned and flushed.
"See?" Rose said, licking her lower lip provocatively, still staring at Alice. "No one got hurt. Yet."
To be continued…