ADRIAN'S POV
I tore through the forest, heedless of the branches lashing against my skin as the darkness dissolved into a blur around me.
Faster.
I needed to go faster.
Yet no distance could separate me from my thoughts. No speed could outrun the tempest raging inside me. And no amount of darkness could conceal what I refused to acknowledge.
Why now?
Why her?
A growl tore from my throat as I drove my fist into the nearest tree.
The impact reverberated through the forest. The trunk splintered beneath the force, its bark fracturing under my knuckles.
Silence descended.
I stared at my trembling hand, slowly curling my fingers into a fist.
For eight centuries, blood had stained these hands.
I was the creature mothers invoked to frighten disobedient children. The nightmare lurking beyond the firelight. The monster whispered about when darkness swallowed the world.
Some creatures were born to be feared.
Some were destined to be hated.
And I belonged among them.
A vampire.
A predator sustained by blood, a creature whose existence haunted humanity's oldest nightmares.
I had never been meant to care.
I had never been meant to feel.
Compassion belonged to humans. Mercy belonged to humans. Pain, grief, tenderness—all those fragile afflictions belonged to humans.
Love most of all.
Not to creatures like me.
Not to something that had endured eight hundred years by burying every emotion capable of becoming a weakness.
I had watched kingdoms rise from dust and crumble into ruins. I had witnessed generations flourish, grow old, and vanish into oblivion. I had seen countless human lives extinguished in the briefest intervals of my existence.
And none of it had ever mattered.
So why did she?
Why had one insignificant human managed to disturb a stillness that centuries had carved into my soul?
My jaw tightened.
Eira.
Even the thought of her name grated against my nerves.
Her face surfaced in my memory, uninvited and infuriatingly vivid.
Those impossible eyes.
She had looked at me without the terror I inspired in others. Without the revulsion I had spent centuries learning to expect.
She had looked at me as though she were searching for something hidden beneath the darkness.
As though she believed there was something inside me worth discovering.
A bitter laugh escaped my throat.
Foolish girl.
There was nothing to find.
Nothing but shadows, violence, and the remnants of a creature who had forgotten what it meant to be anything else.
Then why did her gaze haunt me long after she had disappeared?
Why could I recall every fleeting expression that crossed her face? Every startled glance, every stubborn question, every moment she had dared to look at me as though I were something other than the monster I knew myself to be?
Why?
The question gnawed at me like a wound that refused to close.
She was a stranger.
A human.
Someone who should have passed through my existence without leaving so much as a whisper behind.
Yet the moment I saw that man reaching for her, something inside me had moved.
Not after careful consideration.
Not because I had chosen to intervene.
My instincts had reacted before reason could restrain them, before I could remind myself that her suffering was none of my concern.
The mere possibility of her being hurt had become intolerable.
The realization sickened me.
For centuries, I had watched people bleed, beg, and die without feeling anything beyond indifference. Their anguish had never unsettled me. Their final breaths had never lingered in my thoughts.
So what made her different?
Why did every instinct urge me toward her when every ounce of reason demanded that I stay away?
My thoughts drifted unwillingly to the moment this madness had begun.
The forest.
A frightened girl standing motionless before a snake, terror holding her captive.
For one fleeting moment, she had looked utterly defenseless.
Then she had lifted her eyes.
And something had changed.
Something I could neither explain nor extinguish.
Ever since that day, a strange restlessness had followed me, unsettling the equilibrium I had maintained for centuries.
Why did I care whether she was safe?
Why did the thought of her in danger awaken something so savage inside me?
With a furious snarl, I struck the tree again.
Another crack fractured the silence.
I pressed my knuckles against the rough bark and shut my eyes, willing the memories to disappear.
They refused.
All I could see was her.
Eira.
Her face. Her eyes. The way she had looked at me.
For the first time in eight hundred years, I found myself confronting something I could not intimidate, overpower, or destroy.
And that frightened me more than any monster ever could.
Because the monster I feared was no creature lurking in the darkness.
It was the one awakening inside me.
EIRA'S POV
Sleep eluded me.
Every time I closed my eyes, his gaze returned, relentless as a shadow that refused to be banished.
Dark.
Intense.
Impossible to escape.
Those fathomless black eyes had somehow found their way into every corner of my mind, haunting my thoughts and unsettling even the quietest moments.
Why hadn't I pushed him away?
Why hadn't I screamed?
And why did the memory of his hand resting around my waist refuse to fade, as though my mind had decided to preserve the very thing I desperately wanted to understand?
Most of all, why had he disappeared without a word?
Adrian was unraveling me one thought at a time.
I buried my face deeper into my pillow, hoping the darkness beneath it might offer refuge from my own mind.
It didn't.
Then, without warning, an unfamiliar scent drifted through the room.
Old parchment.
Damp earth after rainfall.
Something ancient, as though it had survived another age.
My eyes snapped open.
Every nerve in my body tightened.
I slowly pushed myself upright and listened.
Nothing.
The room lay motionless beneath the pale wash of moonlight, yet an inexplicable sense of dread settled over me.
The silence felt unnatural.
Wrong.
My heartbeat quickened as I slipped out of bed and approached the door. Moving cautiously, I pressed one eye against the peephole.
My breath caught in my throat.
Figures emerged from the darkness at the far end of the corridor.
Long black coats.
Faces concealed.
Their silhouettes were unmistakable.
The same figures.
For one paralyzing moment, I forgot how to breathe.
Their footsteps reverberated through the corridor, measured and unhurried.
Heavy.
Deliberate.
They moved with the unnerving certainty of predators who had already chosen their prey.
Then they stopped outside Andy's room.
My stomach twisted.
One of them produced a set of keys.
A metallic click pierced the silence.
The door swung open.
No.
No, no, no.
My trembling fingers closed around my phone.
I dialed Mrs. Harle Gargi.
Come on.
Please, pick up.
The ringing continued.
Once.
Twice.
Again.
Each unanswered ring tightened the knot of dread in my chest.
Nothing.
I pressed the phone harder against my ear, scarcely daring to blink as I watched the figures through the peephole.
At last, the door opened again.
The figures emerged into the corridor.
One of them spoke.
His voice was low, clipped, and mercilessly controlled.
"We need to tell Adrian."
The world seemed to tilt beneath my feet.
My blood turned to ice.
Adrian?
His name reverberated through my mind, colliding with every unanswered question I had been trying to suppress.
What connection could he possibly have to those men?
To Andy?
To any of this?
My knees threatened to buckle. I pressed my forehead against the door, gripping its edge to steady myself.
My heart pounded so violently that each beat seemed to reverberate through my skull.
Nothing made sense.
Every fragment of information I uncovered only deepened the mystery.
And somehow, impossibly, every trail seemed to lead back to the same person.
Adrian.
Eventually, the corridor fell silent.
I remained where I was for several moments, scarcely moving, listening for the slightest sound beyond the door.
Nothing returned.
But neither did sleep.
When exhaustion finally dragged me beneath its weight, it felt less like surrendering to rest and more like surrendering to the darkness itself.
RIIIIING...
RIIIIING...
My alarm shattered the silence.
I jolted awake with a gasp, my heart racing before I had even fully opened my eyes.
For several disoriented seconds, I couldn't remember where I was.
Then the previous night came rushing back.
The corridor.
The men in black.
Andy.
Adrian.
And the fact that I was late.
Again.
"Oh, God!"
I scrambled out of bed and hurried through my morning routine, barely allowing myself enough time to think.
By the time I reached college, the corridors were already crowded.
Laughter spilled from open doorways. Conversations mingled into a familiar hum. Footsteps hurried across the floors as another ordinary college morning unfolded.
Life continued as though nothing had happened.
As though people didn't vanish behind closed doors.
As though nightmares were confined to sleep.
Then I saw him.
Adrian.
My heart lurched so suddenly that I almost forgot to breathe.
I needed to talk to him.
About Andy.
About the men in black coats who had entered Andy's room in the middle of the night.
About the name I'd heard them mention.
Adrian.
Perhaps he knew who they were. Perhaps he could explain why they had entered Andy's room and why they needed to tell him about it.
I had so many questions, and he might be the only person who could answer even one of them.
For one foolish second, I thought he might look at me.
Acknowledge me.
But he walked past me as though I were invisible.
Something inside me snapped.
"Adrian."
He didn't stop.
I hurried after him, matching his long strides with considerably more effort than I cared to admit.
"Adrian, I'm talking to you."
"Then talk to someone who cares."
His voice was flat, utterly devoid of interest. He didn't even turn his head.
I stopped for half a second, stunned by the sheer audacity of his response.
Excuse me?
I caught up with him again and stepped into his path.
"Do you always have to be this arrogant, or do you make a special effort whenever I'm around?"
He finally stopped.
But his gaze remained fixed somewhere over my shoulder, as though even looking at me would be an unreasonable waste of his time.
"Get lost, Eira."
Two words.
Cold. Dismissive. Final.
My mouth fell open.
"You cannot be serious."
"Move."
He stepped around me, not sparing me so much as a glance.
I stood frozen for a moment, watching him walk away as if he hadn't just insulted me to my face.
Unbelievable.
Absolutely, infuriatingly unbelievable.
Who did he think he was?
The king of the universe?
I clenched my fists, fighting the urge to march after him and give him a piece of my mind.
"Fine!" I called after him. "Keep your precious attitude. It's not as though I was dying to talk to you!"
He didn't turn around.
Not even once.
I let out an exasperated breath and dragged a hand through my hair.
Arrogant, infuriating, insufferable man!
I couldn't understand how someone could possess so little courtesy and so much attitude. Did he genuinely believe the entire world revolved around him?
And yet, somehow, he still managed to get under my skin with nothing more than a few careless words.
I hated that.
And I hated, most of all, that a small, foolish part of me still wished he would turn around.
He didn't.
I watched him disappear into the crowd, my irritation simmering beneath my skin.
"Unbelievable," I muttered.
This time, I meant every syllable.
The next hour passed in a blur of lectures and restless thoughts.
By the time Tessy and I were finally free, I had replayed my encounter with Adrian so many times that I was beginning to irritate myself.
We headed toward the canteen, Tessy chattering happily beside me while I tried to make sense of everything that had happened.
Then a sudden thought crossed my mind.
I turned toward her.
"Hey, Tessy, do you know who those people are? The ones who walk around wearing long black coats with their faces completely covered?"
She stopped walking.
For a moment, she stared at me with an expression so serious that I began to wonder whether I had asked something I shouldn't have.
Then she leaned closer, lowered her voice, and whispered, "Yes..."
I blinked.
"Really? Who are they?"
Her eyes widened.
"GHOSTS!"
She screamed the word right beside my ear.
"AHH!"
I jumped, nearly dropping my bag.
Tessy burst into laughter, clutching her stomach.
"Oh, my God, Eira! You should've seen your face!"
I glared at her.
"Tessy! I'm going to kill you!"
"Please don't. I'm too young and beautiful to die." She dramatically pressed a hand to her forehead. "Besides, if I become a ghost, I'll come back every night to haunt you."
I smacked her arm while she continued laughing.
"You're impossible," I muttered.
"And you're adorable when you're scared."
"I wasn't scared!"
"Of course not." She nodded gravely. "You just screamed loud enough to wake the dead."
I rolled my eyes and started walking again, ignoring her delighted giggles.
Behind me, she called, "But seriously, Eira—if you ever see a ghost, introduce me! I've always wanted to meet one."
"Keep talking, Tessy. I'll make sure you meet one personally."
Her laughter followed me down the corridor.
For a moment, her ridiculous joke managed to chase away my uneasiness.
But only for a moment.
Because beneath the laughter, the same questions remained.
Those men hadn't looked like people playing a prank.
And one of them had mentioned Adrian.
I glanced back at Tessy, who was still grinning to herself, and shook my head.
Somehow, I doubted ghosts were the most dangerous explanation.
ADRIAN'S POV
From the shadows, I watched her.
Eira looked exhausted, her usual liveliness dimmed beneath an unease she could neither conceal nor understand.
Then I heard her speaking to Tessy.
The moment I caught the words black coats, every muscle in my body went rigid.
She had seen them.
Damn it.
My jaw tightened.
How much had she witnessed? How much had she understood?
And how far had her insufferable curiosity already carried her?
I watched her laugh at something Tessy said, her expression briefly brightening before the uneasiness returned to her eyes.
She had no idea what she was approaching.
If she went to the police, the situation would become far more dangerous than she could imagine.
The men she had seen would not waste time frightening her into silence. They would not leave her with questions she could take elsewhere.
They would eliminate the problem.
Permanently.
My fist slammed into the stone wall beside me.
A fracture spread across its surface beneath the force of the blow.
Damn her recklessness.
Why couldn't she leave well enough alone?
She was human.
Fragile.
Oblivious to the darkness she had begun to approach.
The truth wasn't something she could simply uncover and walk away from. There were secrets that demanded a price, and she had no idea what hers might be.
I could not allow her to discover the truth.
Not now.
Not when merely knowing the wrong name could place a target on her back.
I watched her disappear into the crowd, my jaw clenched so tightly that it ached.
Stay away from them, Eira.
For once in your life, stop asking questions.
Because the moment you uncover what lies beneath those shadows, there may be no way back.
And I might not be there to save you.
EIRA'S POV
By the time I returned to my room, my mind had settled on one decision.
I couldn't keep pretending that the previous night had been a figment of my imagination.
I couldn't keep carrying these questions alone while everyone around me continued acting as though nothing was wrong.
The police had to know.
Whatever connection those men had to Andy, whatever Adrian's name was doing in the middle of it all, I needed answers.
Even if the truth frightened me.
Even if it changed everything.
I changed quickly, gathered my belongings, and stared at my reflection for one final moment.
"All right, Eira," I whispered. "Just tell them what you saw."
My voice sounded steadier than I felt.
I grabbed my bag and left.
The bus journey seemed interminable.
Every stop tightened the knot in my stomach. Every passing minute deepened the unease coiling beneath my ribs.
I tried to distract myself by watching the scenery pass beyond the window, but my thoughts kept circling back to the same terrifying possibilities.
What if the men returned?
What if Andy was in danger?
And why had they mentioned Adrian?
I had no answers.
Only questions that grew heavier with every passing moment.
When I finally stepped off the bus, the road leading to the police station lay almost deserted.
The usual bustle had faded, leaving behind an unsettling stillness.
No crowds.
No familiar voices.
Only the distant hum of traffic and the faint rustle of leaves stirred by the wind.
I tightened my grip on my bag and continued walking.
The police station wasn't far.
I only needed to reach it.
Just a little farther.
Then—
A shadow moved behind me.
Before I could turn, an arm locked around me from behind.
A coarse cloth was forced over my mouth and nose.
My scream dissolved into the fabric.
Panic exploded inside me.
I thrashed violently, kicking backward and clawing at the hands restraining me.
"No—let me go!"
My muffled cries vanished into the cloth.
The grip around me tightened.
Cold fingers pressed against the back of my neck.
A wave of sheer terror swept through me.
I couldn't breathe properly.
Couldn't see.
Couldn't understand what was happening.
I fought harder, desperate to break free, but my assailant's hold only tightened.
Then something sharp struck the base of my neck.
Pain flared through me, sudden and vicious.
My limbs began to weaken.
No.
Not like this.
I tried to scream again, tried to force my body to move, but my strength was draining away too quickly.
The road tilted beneath my feet.
The world blurred at the edges.
Sounds grew distant, as though I were sinking beneath the surface of deep water.
I fought to keep my eyes open, clinging desperately to the last fragments of consciousness.
I had been so close.
So close to finding answers.
A final, desperate thought pierced the gathering darkness.
Adrian.
I didn't understand why his name came to me.
I only knew that, somehow, everything had led back to him.
My knees buckled.
The world dissolved into darkness.
And then, just as suddenly as it had begun, the struggle ended.
Darkness swallowed me whole.