Elizabeth woke with a start, the remnants of the dream clinging to her like a second skin. Her breath came in ragged gasps, her heart pounding as if she'd been running for miles. The room was still, bathed in the pale glow of dawn filtering through the curtains, but her skin was flushed with the memory of Nicholas's touch. She pressed trembling fingers to her lips, half-expecting to feel the lingering chill of his kiss. But of course, there was nothing there — nothing but the echo of his words in her mind. You've always been mine.
She shivered, pulling the blankets tighter around her shoulders. It was just a dream, she told herself. A vivid, unsettling dream, nothing more. But deep down, she knew it was more than that. It felt real, too real — like a memory rather than a fantasy. Elizabeth swung her legs over the side of the bed, her body heavy with exhaustion. She caught her reflection in the mirror across the room — wide eyes, lips slightly parted, a flush high on her cheeks. She looked like a woman haunted by desire. Haunted by him. In the kitchen, Lilith was already up, the scent of coffee filling the apartment. She looked up as Elizabeth entered, her brow furrowing at the sight of her cousin. "Rough night?" she asked gently. Elizabeth hesitated, her hands curling around the edge of the counter. "I… I had a dream," she said softly. "About him." Lilith's eyes sharpened. "Nicholas?" Elizabeth nodded. "It felt so real, Lilith. Like he was… calling to me. And I—" She broke off, swallowing hard. "I can't stop thinking about it." Lilith set down her mug and crossed to her, placing a comforting hand on her arm. "Dreams can be powerful, Liz. Sometimes they're just dreams… but sometimes they're trying to tell us something."
Elizabeth let out a shaky breath. "What if it's more? What if… what if I'm going crazy?" "You're not crazy," Lilith said firmly. "You're… awakening. To something bigger than you realize." Elizabeth looked at her cousin, the weight of those words sinking into her bones. "Awakening to what?" Lilith hesitated, her fingers tightening around Elizabeth's arm. "To who you really are." Elizabeth sat down at the small kitchen table, her hands wrapped around her coffee cup like it was a lifeline. The steam curled up in the quiet morning light, but her thoughts were far from peaceful. Lilith watched her, eyes dark with secrets she wasn't ready to share. "You feel it, don't you?" she asked softly. Elizabeth looked up, frowning. "Feel what?" "That pull. Like there's something — or someone — waiting for you. Something that's been written in the stars long before either of you were born." Elizabeth shivered. "You're talking about fate." Lilith gave a small, knowing smile. "Fate. Destiny. Call it what you will. But sometimes, Elizabeth… we don't choose the path we walk. It chooses us." Elizabeth's fingers tightened around her cup. She wanted to scoff, to dismiss it all as nonsense. But the memory of Nicholas's touch in the dream — the way he'd claimed her with a single word — left her throat dry. "I don't know if I believe in that," she whispered. "I don't know if I want to."
Lilith's smile faded, her expression turning somber. "It doesn't matter if you believe, Liz. The threads are already weaving around you. And the more you fight it, the tighter they'll pull." Elizabeth swallowed, her mind racing. She wanted to ask Lilith what she meant — to demand answers — but something in her cousin's eyes told her she wasn't ready for the truth. Not yet. Instead, she pushed back from the table, forcing a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "I should get ready for work." Lilith nodded, but as Elizabeth turned away, she caught her cousin watching her with a look of quiet sorrow — and something else. A flicker of fear. Elizabeth dressed quickly, her thoughts a storm of confusion and longing. She kept seeing Nicholas's face in her mind's eye, the way his gaze had locked on hers like a promise. And beneath it all, a single, inescapable truth: She didn't know if she was running from him… Or running straight toward him. Elizabeth left the apartment with her coat pulled tight around her shoulders, the chill of the morning air doing little to quiet the heat that still simmered under her skin. The city streets were familiar — the steady rumble of traffic, the muted chatter of passersby — but today, everything felt different. Like the world had shifted on its axis overnight.
As she walked to the bookstore, she caught her reflection in a shop window. For a moment, she didn't recognize the woman staring back at her. Her skin was pale, her eyes wide and searching, lips parted as if she were on the verge of speaking a truth she didn't yet understand. At the corner, a street performer was playing a mournful tune on a violin, the notes haunting and beautiful. Elizabeth paused, a shiver running down her spine as the music wound around her like a spell. The melody was dark and aching, echoing the longing she couldn't shake. "You've always been mine…" She shook her head, tearing her gaze away from the violinist. It was just a song, she told herself. Just a city morning. But as she continued walking, she couldn't shake the feeling that the world was conspiring around her — that the dream had been more than a dream.
At the bookstore, the bell above the door seemed to ring a little too loud when she pushed it open. Sam looked up from the counter, frowning at the worry etched on her face. "You okay, Liz?" he asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost." "I'm fine," she lied. "Just didn't sleep well." He nodded, but she could feel his eyes on her as she moved through the stacks, her fingers brushing over the worn spines of old books. The smell of leather and dust was usually comforting, but today it felt… heavy. Like the air itself was charged with something unseen. As she sorted a new shipment of books, she noticed one volume she'd never seen before — an old, leather-bound tome with no title on the spine. She opened it on instinct, the pages yellowed and brittle, filled with symbols she didn't recognize. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, and she snapped it shut, her pulse quickening. The night has teeth. The words echoed in her mind, and she felt her throat tighten. She slipped the book back onto the shelf, her hands trembling. She was imagining things, she told herself. She had to be. But as she turned away, she caught the faintest scent of something she couldn't place — something cold and intoxicating, like winter air and wild roses. Her heart stuttered in her chest. Nicholas. The rest of the day passed in a dreamlike haze. Elizabeth tried to focus on her work, but her thoughts kept slipping away, wandering back to the man with the dark eyes and the voice like velvet.
At lunch, she stepped outside for some air, the chill wind biting at her cheeks. The streets were busy, but everything felt muted, as if she were seeing the world through a veil. She watched the people pass — their faces blurring together, their laughter distant and hollow. A black cat darted across her path, its eyes bright and knowing. For a moment, it stopped, staring at her with unsettling intensity before slinking into the shadows. Elizabeth's heart skipped a beat. She'd never been superstitious, but today, the world felt like it was whispering secrets just beyond her hearing. Back in the shop, a customer came in — an older woman with silver hair and eyes the color of storm clouds. She moved with an almost ethereal grace, her fingers trailing over the spines of the books as if she were searching for something. When she reached the counter, she looked at Elizabeth with a small, secretive smile. "The night has a way of finding those who belong to it," she said softly, her voice like the rustle of leaves. Before Elizabeth could reply, the woman turned and walked out, leaving the bell above the door to chime in her wake. Elizabeth stood frozen, her skin prickling with goosebumps. She had no idea who the woman was — or what she meant — but the words felt like another thread pulling her deeper into something she couldn't name.
That night, she dreamed again. She was standing in a ballroom lit by candles that flickered like dying stars. Shadows danced along the walls, and the music was a low, seductive thrum in her ears. She wore a gown of midnight silk, her hair pinned up in dark curls, and she felt his presence before she saw him. Nicholas emerged from the shadows, his eyes glowing with a hunger that sent a shiver down her spine. He reached for her hand, and when their fingers touched, the world fell away. "You can't fight this," he whispered, his lips brushing her ear. "You're already mine." She woke with a gasp, her body aching with the memory of his touch. And as the dawn broke over the city, Elizabeth knew that whatever she was caught in, it was only just beginning.
The next evening, Elizabeth found herself wandering the winding streets of the old part of the city. She didn't know why she was there — she'd meant to head straight home after work, but her feet carried her deeper into the labyrinth of narrow alleys and cobblestone paths, as if she were following some invisible thread. The air was cool and damp, the faint scent of rain lingering in the air. Streetlamps glowed like fireflies in the mist, their light hazy and dreamlike. She paused near a small, ivy-draped courtyard, her breath catching in her throat. She had no reason to stop — no reason to look back — but something in the air shifted, electric and expectant.
And there he was.
Nicholas stood in the mouth of the alley, half-shrouded in shadow. His dark coat was buttoned high against the cold, and his eyes — those deep, fathomless eyes — found hers across the distance. For a moment, neither of them spoke. The world seemed to narrow to just the two of them, the thrum of the city falling away like a heartbeat. Elizabeth swallowed hard, her voice barely a whisper. "Nicholas." His lips curved in the faintest hint of a smile — a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Elizabeth," he said softly, his voice a low caress in the night air. She took a hesitant step forward. "I… I didn't expect to see you again." His gaze flickered, something almost like amusement dancing in those dark eyes. "And yet here you are. Or perhaps… here we are." The way he said it — like this meeting was inevitable — sent a shiver down her spine. "What do you mean?" she asked, her fingers curling into fists at her sides. Nicholas tilted his head, studying her. "You feel it too, don't you? The pull between us. The way the world bends to bring us together." She swallowed, her heart racing. "I don't know what I'm feeling." He stepped closer, and the shadows seemed to deepen around him. "You will," he murmured. "Soon."
Elizabeth opened her mouth to speak, but the words tangled on her tongue. She didn't know if she wanted to demand answers or if she was afraid of what he might say. Nicholas reached out, his fingers brushing her cheek. The contact was brief — a ghost of a touch — but it sent heat spiraling through her body. "Be careful, Elizabeth," he said, his voice suddenly soft and almost… sad. "There are things in this world that can't be unseen. And once you step across that line… there's no going back." And then he turned and vanished into the shadows, leaving her standing there, breathless and trembling. She stood for a long moment, her pulse thrumming in her ears, the echo of his touch still burning on her skin. She didn't understand what was happening — didn't understand him — but she knew one thing for certain: She was already in too deep to turn away.
Elizabeth walked home in a daze, her thoughts looping over and over on Nicholas — his words, the way his fingers had ghosted over her skin. She felt like she was walking through a fog, her senses heightened and yet somehow numb. When she finally pushed open the door to the apartment, Lilith was waiting in the living room, a cup of tea cradled in her hands. She looked up, her dark eyes immediately sharp with concern. "Liz? What happened?" Elizabeth hesitated in the doorway, her coat still wrapped tight around her. "I… I saw him again. Nicholas." Lilith's expression shifted, something flickering behind her eyes. "And?" Elizabeth let out a shaky breath, sinking down onto the couch beside her cousin. "It's like… like the world just stops when he's near. I can't think straight. I don't know if it's real, or if I'm just losing my mind." Lilith reached over, her fingers brushing Elizabeth's hand. "You're not losing your mind," she said softly. "But you're right — this isn't normal. There's something about him… something that's meant to find you." Elizabeth shivered at those words. "Meant to? What do you mean?" Lilith gave her a small, wry smile. "The universe has its ways, Liz. Threads of fate that tug us along whether we're ready or not. You and Nicholas… there's something binding you together." Elizabeth stared at her cousin, her mind reeling. "Why do I feel like I'm standing on the edge of something… dangerous?" "Because you are." Lilith's voice was gentle, but her eyes were grave. "But maybe that's where you're meant to be." They sat in silence for a while, the city's heartbeat echoing faintly outside the windows. Elizabeth tried to find comfort in the warmth of the apartment, but her mind was already elsewhere — back in that misty alleyway, back in the way Nicholas had looked at her like she was both a question and an answer. Later that night, long after Lilith had gone to bed, Elizabeth lay in the darkness, her thoughts still tangled around Nicholas. She pressed a hand to her chest, feeling the echo of his touch like an ache she couldn't name. She didn't know when she would see him again. But she knew she would. And when that moment came, she wasn't sure she'd be able to walk away.