Forbidden Longing

The rain fell in relentless sheets, turning the cobblestone paths of Blackthorn College into slick, shadowed rivers. Lila pulled her hood tighter around her face, the cold seeping through her thin jacket as she hurried toward the library. The whispers of the wind carried fragments of laughter—cruel, mocking—from the figures huddled beneath the arched walkways. She kept her gaze down, her heart pounding.

*Don't look at them. Just keep moving.*

A hand shot out, gripping her wrist with icy fingers. Lila gasped, stumbling back as a familiar voice slithered into her ear. "Running away again, little mouse?"

She wrenched free, glaring up at Elias Voss, his smirk illuminated by the flickering lamplight. His dark eyes gleamed with something predatory, something not entirely human. "Leave me alone," she hissed, her voice trembling despite her effort to steady it.

Elias tilted his head, rainwater dripping from his black hair. "You don't belong here, Lila. The sooner you accept that, the easier it'll be."

She clenched her fists, the sting of his words cutting deeper than the cold. "I'm not going anywhere."

His laughter followed her as she turned and fled, the weight of his gaze burning into her back. The library doors groaned as she shoved them open, the warmth inside doing little to thaw the chill in her bones. She leaned against the wall, catching her breath, her pulse roaring in her ears.

"Rough night?"

Lila jumped at the voice, spinning to find Adrian Cross leaning against a bookshelf, his arms crossed. Moonlight filtered through the high windows, casting silver streaks across his sharp features. Unlike Elias, Adrian's presence didn't make her want to run—it made her want to step closer.

She swallowed hard. "Just another charming encounter with your brother."

Adrian's jaw tightened, his gaze flicking toward the doors. "He's been worse lately."

"Yeah, well, so has everyone else." Lila rubbed her arms, the memory of the jeers and whispers still fresh. "This place… it's like the shadows are alive here."

Adrian pushed off the shelf, closing the distance between them. His nearness sent a shiver down her spine—one that had nothing to do with fear. "They are," he murmured. "And they're hungry."

She searched his face, the intensity in his golden eyes sending her heart into a frantic rhythm. "You say that like it's not a metaphor."

"It's not." He reached out, his fingers brushing a damp strand of hair from her cheek. The contact sent a spark through her, warm and electric. "You feel it too, don't you? The pull of this place. The way it wants to swallow you whole."

Lila's breath hitched. She *had* felt it—the way the air thickened at night, the way the wind carried voices that weren't there. But admitting it meant acknowledging the truth: Blackthorn wasn't just a college. It was something far darker.

"Why are you telling me this?" she whispered.

Adrian's thumb traced her jawline, his touch featherlight. "Because you're different. Because I can't stand the thought of you disappearing into the dark like the others."

Her chest ached with the weight of his words. She wanted to believe him, wanted to trust the way his presence made the shadows recede. But Elias's warning echoed in her mind. *You don't belong here.*

Before she could respond, a gust of wind rattled the windows, the candles flickering wildly. Adrian's grip tightened on her arm as a low, guttural growl reverberated through the library.

"Adrian?" Lila's voice was barely audible.

His eyes darkened, his body tensing. "We need to go. Now."

He pulled her toward the back exit, but the doors slammed shut before they could reach them. The temperature plummeted, frost creeping across the floorboards. Lila's breath came in white puffs as the shadows at the edges of the room began to writhe, taking shape.

Adrian stepped in front of her, his voice a low snarl. "Stay behind me."

The shadows lunged.

Lila screamed as icy claws raked through the air, but Adrian moved faster, his form blurring as he intercepted the attack. His body shimmered, the air around him distorting, and for a heartbeat, she saw something else—something *more*—beneath his skin.

Then the world erupted in chaos.

Books flew from the shelves, the candles snuffed out one by one. Adrian fought with inhuman speed, his movements a dance of lethal grace. But the shadows kept coming, their whispers filling the air like a chorus of the damned.

Lila pressed her back against the wall, her pulse a wild drumbeat in her throat. She had to do something. She couldn't just stand there.

Gritting her teeth, she grabbed a heavy tome from the nearest shelf and hurled it at the nearest shadow. The creature shrieked, recoiling as the pages burst into blue flame. Adrian shot her a look of stunned approval before turning back to the fray.

Together, they fought—Adrian with his preternatural strength, Lila with whatever she could grab. The battle raged until, at last, the shadows dissipated with a final, ear-splitting wail.

Silence fell, broken only by their ragged breaths.

Adrian staggered, his form solidifying back into the man she knew. Blood trickled from a cut above his brow, his clothes torn. Lila rushed forward, her hands shaking as she reached for him. "You're hurt."

He caught her wrist, his grip gentle despite the violence of moments before. "I'll heal." His gaze searched hers, raw and vulnerable. "But you… you shouldn't have been able to do that."

Lila frowned. "Do what?"

"Burn them." His thumb brushed her pulse point, sending a jolt through her. "Only one of us can wield fire like that."

Her stomach twisted. "What are you saying?"

Adrian exhaled slowly, his breath warm against her lips. "I'm saying there's a reason the shadows want you, Lila. And it's the same reason I can't stay away."

The confession hung between them, heavy with unspoken truths.

Outside, the storm raged on. But in that moment, all Lila could hear was the pounding of her heart—and the whisper of something ancient stirring within her.

The library doors burst open.

Elias stood in the threshold, his eyes blazing with fury. "What the hell have you done?"

Adrian stepped in front of Lila again, his voice a growl. "Stay out of this, brother."

Elias's lips curled into a sneer. "Too late