Temptation & Close Calls

The fortress is suffocating.

I feel it pressing in on me, its cold stone walls whispering warnings I can no longer ignore. Every step I take is followed by an unseen shadow, every glance met with suspicion. I can feel Lucian's gaze burning into my back even when he isn't there.

Marcus has ordered him to watch me.

They know something is wrong. They know I'm hiding something.

And they won't stop until they find out what it is.

I move carefully, calculating each step, every excuse, every alibi. I should stop. I should listen to the warnings echoing in my mind. Stay away from him. Let him go.

But I won't.

Not yet.

Tonight, I have to see him. One last time.

...

The moment I see him, something inside me settles.

Liam leans against the same fallen log, hands in his pockets, staring at the water as if lost in thought. The moonlight catches in his dark hair, painting him in silver and shadows.

He turns before I speak, like he felt me before I arrived. A slow, knowing smirk tugs at his lips. "I was starting to think you weren't coming back."

I hesitate. "Maybe I shouldn't have."

Liam raises a brow but doesn't push. Instead, he gestures toward the log beside him. "You always stand. You ever sit?"

I exhale slowly before stepping forward and lowering myself onto the log, leaving space between us. "Depends on the company."

Liam chuckles. "And what kind of company am I?"

I meet his gaze. "Dangerous."

He laughs, shaking his head. "I think that title belongs to you."

It should be uncomfortable, but it's not. There's something almost... easy about sitting here with him, something I don't allow myself to feel.

He breaks the quiet first. "You ever feel like you're running from something?"

The question catches me off guard. "What do you mean?"

Liam leans forward, elbows resting on his knees. "Like no matter where you go, no matter how far you try to escape it, something is always right behind you. Waiting. Watching."

I swallow hard. He doesn't know. He can't know.

"All the time," I admit.

Liam glances at me, something unreadable in his eyes. "Yeah... me too."

His answer surprises me. Humans don't know this kind of fear. They don't understand the way shadows stretch too long in the dark, how the feeling of being hunted never quite fades.

Unless he's different.

Unless he feels it too.

I should change the subject. I should leave. But instead, I stay. "What are you running from, Liam?"

He exhales, running a hand through his hair. "Something I don't understand yet. But I know it's coming."

Maybe he's not wrong.

Liam turns to me then, studying me with an intensity that makes my breath hitch. "What about you? What are you running from?"

The truth sits heavy on my tongue. The words are there, waiting to be spoken, to finally be set free.

I'm a vampire.

I drink blood to survive.

I'm not supposed to care about you.

I part my lips, the confession nearly slipping out—but something stops me. A whisper in the back of my mind, a warning etched deep in my instincts. If you tell him, it will change everything.

I force a smirk instead. "Wouldn't you like to know."

Liam chuckles, but his eyes search mine, like he knows I was about to say something else. 

And then, he does something unexpected.

He reaches out.

His fingers brush against mine, barely a touch, but it ignites something in me I don't understand. Something warm. Something dangerous.

I should pull away.

But I don't.

I let it linger for a second longer than I should before finally standing. 

Liam watches me for a moment before nodding. "It's late again right? And you?"

I hesitate. "I don't sleep much."

A small smile ghosts across his lips. "Somehow, that doesn't surprise me."

I turn to leave, but before I disappear into the trees, I hear him call after me. "Hey, Aria."

I pause, glancing back.

Liam's expression shifts, something softer settling in his gaze. "Be careful, alright?"

If only he knew.

"You too," I murmur before vanishing into the night.

...

I move carefully, slipping through the corridors, keeping to the shadows. The fortress is silent, the halls empty—but something feels... off.

I freeze at the sudden sound of footsteps.

Lucian again.

I recognize his stride before I see him. I duck behind a stone pillar, pressing myself against the cold surface, willing the darkness to swallow me whole.

Lucian stops a few feet away, his gaze scanning the hall. His jaw is tight, his golden eyes sharp. He knows I'm close.

For a moment, I don't breathe. His steps slow, his ears trained on the silence surrounding us.

If I move too soon, he'll catch me.

Lucian exhales sharply, turning his head slightly like he's listening for something just beyond his reach. The muscles in his shoulders tense.

He smells it.

Me.

I clench my jaw, forcing every muscle in my body to stay still. If I even shift the wrong way, if I even exhale too loudly, he'll—

Lucian turns.

I press harder into the shadows, feeling them wrap around me like a second skin. Not yet. Don't move. Don't breathe.

A long pause. His eyes darts down the hallway, calculating. Then, finally—finally—he exhales sharply and continues walking, his footsteps echoing through the corridor until they fade completely.

I don't move until I'm sure he's gone.

Slipping through my door, I press my back against it, my pulse thrumming wildly. That was too close.

Then, suddenly, a feeling crawls up my spine.

A presence. Something I can't see but can feel, lurking just beyond my senses. Watching.

I whip my head toward the window, scanning the moonlit darkness beyond the fortress walls. Nothing moves. No shadow moves.

But the feeling remains.

I shake my head, pushing it away. My mind is playing tricks on me. It has to be.

I need to end this. I need to stop seeing Liam.

But even as I tell myself this, I know it's a lie.

I won't stop.

I can't.

One last time.

I'll see him one last time.

Then I'll let him go.

Or at least, that's what I tell myself.