Aeris froze, beads of sweat formed on her forehead. Her mind screamed to look away, but her eyes wouldn't obey.
The taste of copper flooded her tongue, and she didn't know if it was imagination or reality. Her stomach churned and in that helpless, instinctive panic, Aeris screamed.
It wasn't loud, not like in the movies.
It ripped from her throat on reflex, raw and too human. Her hands slapped up to cover her mouth, too late. Far too late.
Because he heard her. Slowly, agonizingly — he lifted his head.
And their eyes met.
Red.
Not red like roses, not even blood.
Red like rage. Red like hunger. His irises glowed, feral and unholy, framed by thick lashes that made him look devastatingly beautiful and lethally cruel at once.
His mouth was stained with fresh crimson blood. It dripped from the corners, trailing down his chin, throat, streaking his chest and muscles. Twin fangs gleamed like ivory daggers. He was Vincent Ravenscroft, a pure-blooded vampire.
Stepping away from the girl, Vincent turned his full attention to Aeris. He strolled towards her, like a predator who knew his prey had nowhere to run. The lazy menace in his stride said he didn't need to run to catch her.
The girl he had fed on crumpled to the floor behind him, eyes rolling back in her head. Whether unconscious or dead, Aeris didn't know. She couldn't look away from the man closing the distance like a nightmare made flesh.
Aeris stumbled backward, one hand reaching behind her blindly as if the wall might offer escape. Her throat tightened. Sweat slid down her spine, chilling instantly in the night air.
"Don't," she rasped. "Don't come near me."
No answer. Just another step. Closer.
"Get..get lost," Aeris hissed, her outstretched arm trembling like a pathetic warding gesture. "I swear, I'll...scream."
Aeris couldn't finish the threat because Vincent was close enough now that she could see the way the blood slicked his mouth. It trickled from his fangs, down the sharp edge of his jaw, staining his collarbones like a crimson necklace. His hair was raven-dark and disheveled, like someone had run their hands through it while screaming. The way his pupils dilated as he looked at her.
Like he was tasting her fear.
Like he liked it.
Aeris swallowed hard. She didn't know his name yet. But she would remember the shape of him for the rest of her life.
Aeris took another step back then another. Her boots scraped against the stone. Her legs screamed to flee, but her body wouldn't listen. "Stay the hell away from me."
"Scream all you want, little lamb." Vincent peered into her, his accent old and European. "There's no one here who will stop me."
Aeris shivered. She was tall compared to most of the other human girls but Vincent--his presence dwarfed her by nearly a full head, making her feel so small and petite. "Who are you?" she swallowed, her blood rushing to her ears.
Aeris didn't make it three steps before he was on her. One second the corridor was empty. The next, Vincent slammed her into the stone wall, his dark gazes pining her.
Her breath punched from her lungs. The force wasn't enough to bruise, but it wasn't gentle either. His arm came up beside her head, caging her in.
Aeris didn't dare breathe. Being so close to each other, he smelled of rich masculine, wildness and intoxicating spice.
"You smell different," Vincent leaned closer, his mouth brushing her ear. "Not fully human."
Aeris went still, shivering on his words. She knew she was alone, trapped in the attention of this being who was not a man but a vampire.
"Vince!" A ripple of magic rolled through the hall, warm and floral and wrong in a place like this.
And then, he stepped into view. He was Aldric Blaise, a fae prince with blonde curls, pointed ears, and a boyish grin that didn't belong in a hallway smeared with blood. And yet there it was, as if he had stepped out of a fae court's masquerade.
His green eyes bright as foxfire and twice as cunning flicked from Vincent to Aeris. Then he smiled. Crooked and Playful.
"Back away," Aldric said calmly. "Now."
Vincent didn't move. He squinted his eyes, his fangs still bared. His gaze stayed on Aeris. Hungry.
"Don't," Aldric warned, stepping closer. "You're full. I can feel it."
A low growl rumbled in Vincent's throat.
"You fed," Aldric continued, voice gentler now. "She's not prey. Not yours."
Vincent's shoulders tensed. His lips peeled back further.
Aldric reached a hand toward him. "Come on..."
"Don't touch me." Vincent growled, his voice venom like a warning.
"I never said I would," Aldric replied pleasantly. Then he did.
His hand grabbed Vincent's shoulder, yanking him back like he weighed nothing. His body was wrenched away from Aeris's with terrifying speed.
But Vincent wasn't done. He twisted like smoke, breaking Aldric's grip, and shoved him harder. "Stay out of this."
Aldric staggered, catching himself with one foot back as he adjusted his cuff like Vincent hadn't just tried to throw him through a wall. "Mood swings already? Gods, you're going feral early this year."
Vincent lunged, too fast. But Aldric was faster. He stepped between him and Aeris with an infuriatingly casual grace.
One hand still outstretched, the other glowing faintly with pulsing runes that danced up his wrist.
"Enough," Aldric said, his voice finally hardening. "You made your point. Now let me handle this before she reports you to the disciplinary incharge."
"Fuck off!" Vincent's lips curled into something between a snarl and a sneer. His red eyes slid to Aeris before with a whip of his coat, he vanished into the shadows with a sound like silk tearing.
One blink, and the vampire was gone.
Aeris slid down the wall, air rushed back into her lungs in a wheezing gasp.
Aldric exhaled. Then turned toward Aeris with a smile far too casual for the chaos he'd just interrupted. "Whew. That was intense. For me, I mean. You just got threatened by a bloodthirsty sociopath." he said, dusting himself off dramatically.
Aeris just stared at him.
He gave her a dazzling grin and extended a hand. "You alright, Snowflake?"
"…Snowflake?"
"You look like one," Aldric replied with a shrug. "All sharp and pale and likely to melt if touched incorrectly."
Aeris ignored his hand, pushing herself up. "What the hell was that?"
"Ah," he said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "He was Vincent Ravenscroft. You know—vampire royalty, walking red-flag, the most unapproachable student in this entire damned place. We're working on his…people skills."
Aeris rasped. "He was feeding on someone."
"Yes," Aldric agreed. "But she volunteered. Look, it's a complicated economy of bloodlust and bad decisions." He paused. "You caught him mid-snack. Honestly, you're lucky he didn't drain you on instinct."
"Lucky?" she snapped.
He held up both hands. "Bad phrasing. Let's just say I arrived at the perfect time. Like a knight, a very pretty one."
Aeris glared at him, "Are you going to flirt with me while I'm still traumatized?"
"Only respectfully." His grin widened. "I can multitask."
"Who are you?"
"Oh." He bowed with a little flourish, one hand on his heart. "Aldric Blaise, prince of the Fae. I assume you're new here?"
"No, I just enjoy getting assaulted in strange castles on weekends," she muttered.
He laughed — a bright, easy sound that didn't quite belong in this corridor still stained with blood. "I like you."
"I don't like you."
"Even better."
Aeris rubbed her temples. "This school is insane."
"Welcome to Noxmere," Aldric said, stepping aside with a teasing bow, gesturing down the hall. "Where the nights are cursed, the blood is fresher than the gossip, and the orientation ceremony is about to start in ten minutes."
She blinked. "Ten?"
"You're late. But on the bright side — you made an impression. Vincent never attacks anyone on day one."
She didn't find that reassuring.
Aldric walked beside her now, still chatting as if they weren't covered in dried panic. "Don't worry about him. I'll keep him away from you."
She gave him a look.
He held up a finger. "Unless you want him to come near you. Some do. Morbidly."
Aeris said nothing.
Aldric's gaze slid sideways to her. His smile softened. "You were brave, you know. Didn't even cry."
"I'm not scared of vampires."
Aeris said, chin raised even though her legs still trembled.
A lie. A stupid one, but the words escaped before she could stop them — pride sharpening her tongue like it always did.
Aldric's smile faltered. "You should be," he said, voice softer now. Like he was sharing a secret the world shouldn't hear. "Especially that one."
"…Why?"
Aldric didn't reply.
Strolling a few paces ahead, he looked back at her with a grin that shouldn't have worked after what he'd just said. "Come on, Snowflake," he called, voice returning to its usual teasing lilt. "We're already fashionably late. Let's not make it a dramatic entrance unless you plan to faint in the middle of the hall."
Why is he so carefree?