THE VAMPIRE NAME

The silence stretched between them, thick with unspoken tension. Selene's breath came shallow as she glared up at the vampire, her heart hammering against her ribs. His grip on her wrist was firm, but he did not hurt her. Instead, he watched her with those strange silver eyes, as if waiting for something.

Selene had faced countless vampires before—feral beasts that saw nothing but their next meal. But this one... he was different. Calculated. Controlled. And most unsettling of all, he didn't seem intent on killing her.

"I should kill you," she said through clenched teeth.

A slow, knowing smile curled his lips. "And yet… you hesitate."

Selene growled in frustration, using her free hand to grab the dagger hidden at her thigh. In one swift movement, she swung, but he anticipated her attack, stepping back just enough to avoid the blade. He was fast—too fast.

Before she could strike again, he caught her wrist and twisted it just enough to make her drop the weapon. The dagger clattered onto the stone floor, the sound echoing in the abandoned chapel.

"You fight well," he admitted. "For a human."

Selene bristled at the concession. With a sharp movement, she yanked her arm free and took a step back, now weaponless but unwilling to back down.

The vampire tilted his head slightly, as if studying her, amused. "I never expected the Order of Lumina to send someone like you."

Something in his voice made her uneasy. "What do you mean,'someone like me'?"

His eyes flickered with something unreadable. "You're different from the others. I can see it in the way you hesitate and the way you question. The others hunt because they are told to. But you... you need to know why."

Selene clenched her jaw. "I don't question my duty."

"Don't you?" His smirk deepened. "If that were true, I'd be dead already."

She had no answer to that.

Taking advantage of her momentary silence, he stepped closer, and despite herself, she found her feet frozen in place. He didn't attack—he simply stood there, close enough that she could see the sharp angles of his face, the slight parting of his lips, the strange glow in his irises.

"Who are you?" She asked at last, her voice quieter than she intended.

He hesitated. Then, as if deciding something, he spoke.

"My name is Lucian."

The name sent an unexpected shiver down her spine. It felt... familiar, though she knew she had never met him before.

"Lucian," she repeated, testing the name on her tongue. "And why would a vampire tell a huntress his name?"

Lucian's lips twitched in amusement. "Perhaps because I want you to remember it."

Selene's hand curled into a fist. He was toying with her, and she hated that it was working. But beneath the teasing, there was something else. Something deeper.

"What are you doing here, Lucian?"

His expression turned somber. "Surviving. Just like you."

She narrowed her eyes. "Surviving? You slaughtered three villagers."

His gaze darkened. "I did no such thing."

Selene stiffened. "You're lying."

"Am I?" His voice was soft, but there was something dangerous beneath it. "Did you see me do it? Or did the order tell you I was guilty?"

Her lips parted, but no words came. She had followed the trail of the victims, and it had led her to him. But she hadn't actually seen him kill them. She had simply assumed—because he was a vampire, and that was what vampires did.

Right?

Lucian studied her, as if he could see the battle waging inside her mind. "Not everything is as black and white as the Order would have you believe, huntress."

Selene exhaled sharply, shoving aside her doubts. It didn't matter. Even if he hadn't killed those villagers, he was still a vampire. Still a threat.

She stepped back, reaching for her second dagger—only to find the sheath empty. She cursed under her breath. Lucian held up the blade, turning it between his fingers.

"Looking for this?"

Selene lunged, but he was faster. He stepped away, the dagger vanishing into the folds of his coat.

"Give it back."

He smirked. "Not yet."

Frustration burned through her veins. "What do you want, Lucian?"

He was silent for a moment, then said, "I want to talk."

She scoffed. "Talk? That's not what your kind does."

His gaze flickered with something unreadable. "You have much to learn about my kind, Selene."

The way he said her name made her stomach tighten.

Lucian turned away, walking toward the chapel's broken archway. Selene watched him, torn between the urge to chase him down and the strange feeling that she was meant to hear what he had to say.

Before he disappeared into the night, he glanced over his shoulder. "Meet me tomorrow, just before dawn. The eastern cliffs."

Selene clenched her fists. "And if I don't?"

Lucian's lips curled into a knowing smile. "You will."

Then he was gone, vanishing into the darkness like a shadow dissolving in the wind.

Selene stood there for a long moment, heart racing, mind spinning.

What had just happened?

And why, despite every instinct screaming at her, did she already know she would go to the cliffs?