{IRIS}
Even now, as I watched the golden-haired vampire glide toward the front of the room, the memory of Lord Valtheris twisted through my chest like a dark ribbon.
I didn't understand it. I didn't know why his name alone could send shivers whispering beneath my skin.
It was only in the library that I truly saw him—yet the moment our eyes met, a strange familiarity stirred within me, as though I had known him far longer than my memory allowed.
He was the very vampire Lord Val had warned me to avoid at all costs… though I still did not understand why Lord Valtheris lingered so stubbornly in my thoughts from the moment I first gazed upon him.
And I knew one thing with unsettling clarity:
Being near him felt like standing on the edge of something vast and forbidden.
Something that could swallow me whole.
Something I should fear.
And yet—
I wanted to be near him still.
