Chapter 2

When he saw he had my attention, a slow smile spread across his face, deliberate and haunting. It wasn't a kind smile, nor one of reassurance—it was predatory. 

Narrowing my eyes i assessed him. He was being deliberate, trying to gain my attention. Vampires are predators who love to play. So, I ignored the vampire, turning my attention to the horizon where the last of the sunrays were fighting to linger as they surrendered to the encroaching night. 

On a second thought i quickly weaved a barrier spell around me not wanting to attract an hungry vampire if he was looking for an easy meal. 

"You shouldn't turn your back on a predator," his voice cut through the air, low and smooth, "It's dangerous." 

I hadn't heard him move, hadn't felt his approach. The air around me seemed to shift, heavy with his presence, like a shadow stretching far beyond its natural reach. 

I took a deep breath to calm myself, realizing he was much closer than he had been just moments before. Even a small reaction from me and he will think I am someone he can play with. 

Slowly, I glanced over my shoulder, careful to keep my expression neutral. His pale features stood out starkly against the dimming light. His dark eyes held mine, intense and unyielding, as if daring me to show even the smallest flicker of fear. 

"You shouldn't stare at strangers—it's creepy," I fired back, my tone sharp and dismissive, not bothering to turn fully toward him. Releasing a deep sigh at being interrupted, I stood from my place, wanting to go back to my room. 

"You look like freshly spilled blood," the vampire murmured, each word curling in the air like smoke. He's eyes traced the length of me, taking in the red dress I was wearing. I guess he was right. Is that what sparked his interest in me, because I looked like a bag of food to him? "I wonder if you would taste just as fresh."

Oh yeah it is definitely because he's hungry.

His gaze was scorching, a sharp contrast to the icy air around us. I could feel it, the way his eyes traced the side of my face, lingering just a moment too long before sliding down to my neck. It was as though his stare had substance, leaving a path of fire beneath my skin, even through the layers of fabric.

I clenched my jaw, refusing to let the shiver creeping up my spine reach the surface. His words were deliberate, calculated to unnerve me, but I wouldn't give him the satisfaction. A handle ten creepy vampires like him if i wanted to. But now is not the right time or place. And i am here to gain someone specific's attention.

I couldn't help rolling my eyes, thoroughly done with the game he seemed determined to play. I had neither the time nor the patience to entertain his antics any longer.

Before I could take even a step, he was there—in front of me in the blink of an eye. The space he closed so effortlessly should have been impossible, but there he stood, impossibly close, teetering on the very edge of the roof.

It was unsettling, watching him balance with an ease that defied logic. The wind tugged at his coat, his pale face illuminated by the last rays of the dying sun. Anyone else standing there would have looked vulnerable, on the brink of disaster. A single misstep, a wrong breath, and they'd plummet.

But he wouldn't. And both of us are aware of the fact.

As I really looked at him, i realized that he was beautiful. The way every vampire was beautiful. Sometimes i wonder what i would look like if i was a vampire would I become more beautiful, or maybe i am the most perfect as I am right now. There is no maybe, i am perfect. There was no denying it. I guess i have beauty with magic as an added bonus.

A sudden movement brought me back from my musing. It was his hand.

He lifted his hand, his long fingers reaching out as if to touch me—no, not as if. He fully intended to touch me. The audacity. How dare he? He didn't know who he was dealing with, who he was playing with. I wanted to put a steak through his heart right then.

I didn't flinch, didn't so much as shift an inch. My glare met his smirk head-on, my expression colder than the frost clinging to the edges of the rooftop. I wasn't some fragile creature for him to toy with, and I'd make that abundantly clear.

His hand halted just an inch away from me, as it met the magical barrier i weaved moments before.

The shield shimmered faintly in the dying light, a subtle reminder of the boundary he would not cross. "The day I let a stranger touch me," I said, my voice sharp and unyielding, "is the day I'll be dead."