The party was spinning out of control.
Music thundered like a pulse that wouldn't stop, the air hot and heavy with the mix of perfume, sweat, and alcohol. Students shouted over each other, laughter ringing sharp, glasses clinking, the crash of something breaking in the kitchen followed by cheers.
But Arielle barely registered any of it.
All she saw was Adrian.
All she felt was the weight of his presence pressing into her, suffocating and grounding at the same time.
His last words still burned through her: mon trésor. My treasure.
She told herself she hated it. That it made her skin crawl. But the truth was more complicated, and that truth scared her more than his closeness ever could.
Her chest tightened. She had to get away. Just a little space. Just enough to breathe.
"I—I should go," Arielle stammered, her voice nearly lost in the music.
Adrian's hand shot out, brushing against her wrist, the lightest touch—yet it froze her completely.
"You're not going anywhere," he said softly, his tone calm enough to make her shiver. "Not until I say you can."
Her breath stuttered. She pulled her hand back, but he didn't need to hold her; his words bound her in place better than any grip.
"Adrian, please," she whispered, her voice shaking. "You don't even know me."
His lips curved, his gaze sinking into hers like he could peel her open from the inside. "I know everything that matters."
"No, you—"
"I know you bite your lip when you're nervous," he interrupted, his words low, precise. "I know you can't stand loud places but came here anyway, hoping for a fresh start. I know you spend more time in your own head than anyone ever notices. I know you've never been kissed."
Arielle's cheeks flamed. "Stop."
He leaned closer, until his breath brushed her ear, drowning out the noise of the crowd.
"Corderilla," he whispered, the syllables rolling off his tongue like silk.
Her brow furrowed. "What… what does that mean?"
"Little rope," Adrian murmured, his tone darkly amused. "Because you don't even realize you've tied yourself to me already."
Her stomach dropped.
"Adrian, this isn't funny—"
"I'm not joking." His voice sharpened. "Obstinata. The stubborn one. That's what you are. Fighting me when your heart already knows where it belongs."
Her throat tightened, every word tangling inside her. "You don't get to decide that."
He studied her for a moment, his eyes steady, unreadable. Then his lips curved again, and he whispered another word.
"Solnishko."
She blinked, startled. "What?"
"Little sun," he said, almost gently this time. "Because even in your fear, you still glow. And I'll be damned before I let anyone else see it."
The contradiction of his tone rattled her—the sharpness of his possession wrapped in something almost tender.
She didn't know how to respond. Didn't know if she could.
And then—
A crash cut through the noise. A bottle shattered against the wall nearby, liquid spraying across the floor. The crowd roared in excitement, some chanting, some laughing.
"Fight! Fight!" someone shouted from the kitchen.
Adrian's gaze snapped toward the noise, jaw tightening. Arielle followed his eyes, heart still racing, only to see two boys shoving each other near the counter.
One of them—the sandy-haired boy from earlier who had offered her a drink.
He was bleeding from his lip, shouting something incoherent as his friends tried to hold him back. The other boy looked just as drunk, just as furious.
Arielle flinched at the chaos, instinctively taking a step back. But Adrian caught her wrist this time, firm but not painful, dragging her closer to him.
"You stay with me," he ordered.
Her chest tightened. "Adrian—"
"Do you hear me?" His gaze burned into hers. "You stay."
She opened her mouth, but before she could answer, the sandy-haired boy's eyes locked on them through the crowd.
And his expression changed.
His lip curled into a sneer, blood staining his teeth. "Her? That's what this is about?" he spat, voice carrying over the music. "You're starting fights over her?"
Arielle froze. Heat rushed to her cheeks as dozens of heads turned toward them.
Adrian's expression didn't change. He stood tall, calm, as if the entire room wasn't suddenly staring. "Careful," he said evenly, his voice cutting through the noise.
But the boy only laughed bitterly. "What is she to you, huh? Your little charity case? The quiet one you think you can—"
He didn't finish.
Adrian moved so fast Arielle barely processed it. One second he was beside her, the next he was across the room, shoving the boy against the counter with a force that made glasses tumble and shatter.
Gasps erupted. The music seemed to falter, swallowed by the sudden tension.
"Adrian!" someone shouted.
Arielle's heart leapt into her throat. She pushed through the crowd, panic flooding her as she reached them. "Stop!" she cried, grabbing at Adrian's arm.
For a second, he didn't move. His hand was fisted in the boy's shirt, his gaze sharp and unrelenting.
Then, slowly, he released him.
The boy stumbled back, coughing, glaring—but he didn't step forward again.
Adrian turned back toward Arielle, his expression unreadable. His chest rose and fell steadily, not like someone who had just nearly started a brawl, but like someone who had expected this all along.
She looked up at him, her breath trembling. "You can't… you can't just do things like that."
His eyes softened—just barely. "I can if it's for you."
Her stomach twisted. "I didn't ask—"
"I don't need you to ask." He reached out, brushing a strand of hair from her face with a gentleness that clashed with the violence she had just witnessed. "You're mine, Arielle. Always have been. Always will be."
She shook her head, words catching in her throat. "You don't even know me."
He smiled then—not dark, not mocking, but something that made her chest tighten even more.
"Eutimia," he whispered.
She blinked, confused. "What does that even mean?"
"Serenity," he said softly. "The calm you don't even realize you give me."
Her heart stumbled.
And in that moment, with the party roaring again around them, the broken glass glinting on the floor, and everyone pretending not to stare, Arielle realized something terrifying.
Adrian wasn't going to let her go.
Not tonight.
Not ever.