Dance With The Devil

The Desperation

Adaline couldn't sleep.

The remnants of the dream lingered in her mind like an unshakable fog. She could still feel Hunter's presence, hear his voice in the dark corners of her mind, his words seeping into her thoughts like poison. "You're already mine, Adaline. You always have been."

The words replayed over and over again in her head, a relentless echo that left her heart racing even after waking. Every night since their encounter in the church, he had visited her dreams. His eyes, so dark and fathomless, would loom over her, filling her with an overwhelming need to *want* him. His touch, cool and possessive, would trail along her skin, leaving a mark she couldn't scrub away. It wasn't just a dream anymore. It was becoming reality. The lines between what was real and what was illusion blurred more with each passing hour.

Adaline sat up in bed, her body drenched in cold sweat. Her skin felt too tight, too *alive*, as if the shadows of her dreams had followed her into the waking world. The space around her felt smaller, suffocating. She could feel his presence, hovering just beyond her senses, watching her, waiting.

*I can't keep living like this.*

The thought was a bitter, acrid taste in her mouth, but it was true. If she didn't do something-*soon*-she was going to lose herself entirely to him. To this... thing, whatever it was that clung to her thoughts, to her body.

She had to find a way to stop it. To stop him.

Her hands shook as she reached for her phone, dialing the only person who might be able to give her the answers she so desperately needed. Giuseppe. She had no other choice.

The phone rang. Once. Twice. Three times.

"Come on, come on," she muttered under her breath, her heart hammering in her chest. If he didn't pick up, she'd lose her mind.

Finally, the phone clicked, and his voice came through, low and scratchy.

"Adaline, my dear. It's late. What is it?"

She didn't care about the time. She was past caring about anything except stopping this nightmare.

"Giuseppe," she said, her voice shaky, desperate. "You were right. About everything. It's happening. He's... he's inside my head. And I don't know how much longer I can keep fighting him."

There was a long silence on the other end. For a moment, she wondered if he had hung up, but then he spoke.

"I told you this wasn't something you could fight on your own," he said, his voice heavy with regret. "You're asking for something dangerous, Adaline. You're trying to challenge a force far older and more powerful than you can understand."

She didn't care. She was too far gone to care about the warnings. She had already felt the suffocating grip of Hunter's influence, the way he twisted her thoughts, her desires, pulling at her like a puppet on strings.

"I *don't care*," she snapped, her voice rising. "I can't just give up! Please, Giuseppe, you have to help me. You have to tell me how to fight this-how to stop him from taking me!"

There was another pause, longer this time. The line crackled with the weight of unspoken things.

"Adaline..." His voice softened, filled with sorrow. "The only way to sever the bond... to rid yourself of him... is to face him. To face the truth of what he is. There are no shortcuts, no safe way out."

Her breath caught. She could hear his words, but they didn't make sense. "What do you mean? How do I face him? How do I-"

"There is no other way," he continued, cutting her off. "You must confront him. In his world. In his *domain*."

Adaline's blood ran cold. "His world? What do you mean? I thought this was all in my head."

"No, no, my dear. It's not just in your head. He has power in the waking world too. And if you want to break the bond, you must meet him where his power is strongest. In the realm of dreams. In the place where he rules."

Adaline's mind reeled. The realm of dreams? How could she possibly enter his world? How could she even survive there?

"Giuseppe, you don't understand! I-" Her voice faltered, and she had to swallow down the rising panic that surged in her chest. "I can't keep doing this. I can't keep feeling him, *wanting* him like this. Please, help me. Tell me what I need to do."

There was another long pause before Giuseppe spoke again, his voice low and serious. "The ritual. There is a ritual, but it is dangerous. Very few have survived it. But it is the only way to stand a chance."

"Tell me what it is," she demanded, the urgency in her tone cutting through the fear. "I'll do whatever it takes."

Giuseppe hesitated, then gave a long sigh. "You must perform the ritual in the place where the barrier between the worlds is thinnest. In Venice, there is a location-a hidden place deep within the city, an old temple. It's said to be where the veil between the waking world and the world of dreams is the weakest."

Adaline's pulse quickened. "Where? Tell me where."

He rattled off an address, a location deep within the old part of Venice, far from the usual tourist spots. The name of the place sounded foreign to her, ancient even. She had never heard of it before.

"Giuseppe," she said, her voice trembling now, "I'm coming there. I don't care what it takes. I'm doing it."

Another sigh on the other end of the line. "Adaline, this path you choose... be certain of it. The ritual may break the bond, but it may also break you. Once you cross that line, there is no going back."

"I don't care," she said again, this time with more conviction than she had ever felt. "I don't care what happens. I just need him to stop. I need to stop feeling *him*."

There was a long pause before Giuseppe spoke again. "Very well. But remember what I said. If you fail... you will belong to him forever. And not just in dreams."

Adaline's stomach twisted. The weight of his words settled in her chest like a stone, but she pushed it aside. She was already too deep.

"I'll be there tomorrow," she said, her voice cold with resolve. "And I'll do whatever it takes."

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### **End of Chapter Three**

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Sooooo far???? How is it ???
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