EIRA'S POV
The darkness was thickening around me, pressing closer with every step. I needed to reach the room before it swallowed me whole. I couldn't afford to be late. My thoughts were scattered, my heart uneasy, and as I hurried down the corridor, a cold shiver crept up my spine. It felt as though unseen footsteps echoed just behind me.
I spun around—only to find the hallway stretching out, empty and silent.
Then the lights above flickered once, twice—and went out. My breath caught. In the pitch-black, a figure appeared at the far end. Still. Silent. His face drowned in shadows.
"Hey! Who are you?" My voice rang out, trembling against the walls as I took a step toward him.
No answer. He stood unmoving, then dissolved into the darkness, leaving my skin prickling with dread. I shook it off, forcing my hand to steady as I switched on my phone's light. The pale glow felt like my only shield as I quickened my pace. I needed to get out. I needed a cab—before it was too late.
Just as the college gates came into sight, the feeling returned—stronger this time, like hot breath at my neck. My pulse raced as I turned. Tessy. She was running toward me, her face pale with terror.
"Eira, move!" she screamed, her eyes fixed on something to my right.
But before my mind could grasp her warning, a violent pain split through my skull. Blinding. Shattering. My body collapsed as the world was ripped away, leaving me in an endless, merciless void.
TESSY'S POV
The doctor's silence was unbearable. I had been standing here for what felt like hours, yet all I could see was Eira—her fragile body on the floor, blood spilling like a cruel river beneath her head. The image refused to leave me. My chest tightened until I could barely breathe.
"Doctor, what happened to her? Will she be okay?" My voice cracked, trembling as the words forced their way out.
"Ma'am, her condition is critical. We are doing everything we can to stabilize her." His tone was steady, but his eyes betrayed the truth.
"We've stopped the bleeding, but her brain activity is… concerning. If she doesn't wake up by morning, she may slip into a coma."
The words struck like knives. My knees weakened. It felt unreal—like a nightmare I couldn't wake from.
"No… Eira…" My heart screamed her name in silence.
"Tessy, you need to hold yourself together," my mother whispered, gently gripping my shoulders.
"She will be okay," I whispered back, clinging to hope as though it were the last fragile flame in the dark. Yet inside, fear devoured me, leaving a hollow ache that no words could soothe.
ADRAIN'S POV
Tessy's wailing echoed through the corridor, raw and broken, as she sat outside Eira's room. I slipped past her silently, my face hidden behind a hospital mask.
When I pushed open the ICU door, my chest clenched. There she was—Eira—lying pale and still, her fragile form swallowed by white sheets and machines. The sight tore through me like nothing ever had. For the first time in so many years, after living as if without a heart, I felt pain—piercing, unbearable pain.
I reached out, my hand trembling, and touched her cold cheek. My other hand pressed against her head, and through my power I sensed it—her life flickering weakly, like a candle ready to die.
"No… no, you can't leave me. I won't let you." My voice cracked, fierce and desperate.
I stumbled out of the hospital, then broke into a sprint—my speed blurring me into the forest. The anger and agony inside erupted. My claws ripped across tree bark, splitting trunks as my roars shook the silence of the night.
"I will save you, Eira!" I cried into the emptiness. "Even if it costs me my life—I will not let you go. I know what I must do."
Falling to my knees, I carved the Ενεργειακός τροχός into the earth with trembling hands. Candles flared to life, their flames weak against the howling wind, yet they stood as the beginning of the ritual that would either save her—or destroy me.
ELISA'S POV
Something was wrong with Adrain. He had changed ever since that girl entered his life. I walked to his room, knocking gently, but silence answered me. My unease deepened.
I pushed the door open wider. The room was empty, the sofa knocked aside as if in haste. My throat tightened as my fingers brushed against it.
"Adrain… how could you do this?" I whispered, fear curling in my chest.
I hurried to Mike, who sat by the fireplace with his eyes closed, lost in thought.
"Mike, Adrain… he's not at home,".
He opened his eyes slowly, then shut them again, searching with his power. When they flew open, anger burned within them. He stood abruptly, his jaw clenched.
"He's performing the Ενεργειακός τροχός… to save that girl," he growled.
"The Ενεργειακός τροχός?" My voice wavered, though my heart already feared the answer.
"It is a ritual that transfers power from one being to another. Even for us, it is torment beyond endurance. But if used on a human…" His fists tightened. "…it freezes the vampire from the inside. A cold death. Forever."
"What? No—please, Mike, save him!" Panic surged in my veins.
"We have to stop him," Mike said, fury sharpening every word.