Asteria
The cold air filled my lungs with such crisp freshness that I almost felt fully awake. It was early morning, the sky painted in deep blue hues with no trace of the sun, giving the landscape an almost supernatural quality. I loved it so much that I pulled out my camera and began snapping pictures, while Julian loaded our luggage into the trunk. I bounced around him like a child, giggling, caught up in my excitement.
"I'm glad you're in such a good mood. Are you sure you feel well enough to drive?" he asked.
I nodded happily, certain of myself. "I promise I'll pull over if I feel the need to take a nap."
He had surprised me with a full-week retreat in the mountains: spa treatments, meditation sessions, and couple's massages. It had been a while since our last vacation, and I was ecstatic. Little did we know, this trip would change our lives forever.
The first stretch of the drive was filled with laughter, memories, and old music blasting through the speakers. We sang along to our favorite bands from our student days—badly and loudly, but with pure joy.
"Remember my weird leather-jacket phase?" I laughed.
"Oh, you mean the 'no one understands me' phase?" Julian teased.
"I was so angry at life, I even thought about forming a secret club to get back at society."
"How is this the first time I'm hearing about this club?"
"It was only for girls," I giggled. "We'd plan to take over the world, then cry together at romantic movies."
"And who says I wouldn't want to cry at romantic movies?" he teased back.
The trees blurred into huge splashes of green as we drove, the wind through the open windows playing with my hair and soothing my mind. Julian placed a hand on my knee, and I smiled, feeling pure happiness flow through me.
If only I could have frozen that perfect moment, because the next one shattered everything.
A dark figure appeared in the middle of the road.
I slammed the brakes and jerked the wheel, sending the car spinning until we faced the opposite direction. My pulse thundered in my ears as the tires screeched against the asphalt.
I desperately checked on Julian, and he was fine, aside from being shocked and confused, so I turned my gaze to the rear view mirror, and the figure was in the same place. A lot of fog was surrounding the person, and I knew in my gut that something was incredibly wrong and we were in danger.
My hands shook as I leaned down to grab my emergency bat from under the seat. Julian started to speak, but I shushed him, unable to tear my eyes away from the mirror.
I counted silently to ten, then threw open the door and stepped out, the bat clutched so tightly my fingers ached, only to find the figure had vanished.
I heard Julian's steps following me, but it didn't matter anymore. I started screaming, all the frustration erupting out of me, pacing around like a rabid dog, swinging the bat in the air.
"What the f**k do you want from me? Why don't you just show your face and be done with these games?" I was yelling at the trees surrounding us like a mad woman.
"Come on! Face me, you motherf****r!" I yelled again, knowing surely that the treat was still there, watching us.
I stopped myself for a moment, listening to nothing else but the wind rustling the leaves, when Julian grabbed me gently by the shoulders and turned me around to face him. I could see the pain in his eyes, and my heart dropped in my stomach at that sight.
"I'm not crazy, I swear!" I pleaded with a breaking voice.
"I know," he whispered. "It's just the lack of sleep affecting you. We'll figure this out, love." He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me closer into his tight embrace.
"Well, isn't that romantic?" A mockingly voice startled us, and I instantly felt my heart stop for a few seconds.
I glanced at Julian, trying not to lose sight of the stranger. He was tense and alert, meaning he saw him too. Relief hit me like a wave.
A tall man sat casually on the hood of our car, elbows on his knees, spinning a pendant between his fingers like he had all the time in the world. A heavy black cloak hid his face beneath the hood, only a few strands of dark hair swaying in the wind. Fingerless gloves showed strange tattoos on his knuckles, and his boots were slick with mud, making him look like he'd crawled out of the earth itself.
From the corner of my eye, I caught Julian watching the stranger with the same wary intensity that gripped me.
"So you see him too, right?" I murmured.
He gave a single, silent nod, his gaze never leaving the man.
Relief flickered through me for half a heartbeat, then vanished. I wasn't imagining him. But that only meant the danger was real.
"Who are you, and what do you want? How are you doing this—appearing out of nowhere and making me see things?" My voice trembled with anger and confusion, a dozen questions crashing into one another in my head.
"That's a rather rude tone for a first meeting," he said with a low, amused chuckle. He paused, tilting his head slightly before lifting his hood.
The breath caught in my throat. His eyes were shifting between icy blue and violet, his gaze sharp and unearthly, the kind that could freeze time. Dark hair framed his face, half tied back in a loose knot, the rest spilling down in wild, silken waves. The sides of his head were shaved, marked with faint, intricate symbols that glimmered in the fog. A few stray strands brushed against a strong, unshaven jaw, carved from shadow and light.
He was otherworldly, too beautiful, too deliberate. Something deep within me stirred at the sight of him, a strange flicker of recognition twisting my stomach. He seemed to know it, and a slow smirk spread across his face, making me hate him instantly and also myself for being dumbstruck.
"Let's see…" He drawled the words, the corner of his mouth curling with quiet amusement. "Who I am depends entirely on you." He let the pendant spin once between his fingers, the faint glint of metal catching the light before he stilled it with a tap of his thumb.
"I can be your friend—if you behave, if you're a good, obedient girl." His tone dipped lower, soft but threaded with something dangerous.
"Or I can be your worst enemy if you insist on being difficult. I'd be lying if I said I didn't prefer the second option." His smile deepened, lazy and predatory. "A little resistance always makes things more... entertaining."
He straightened, stepping down from the car with the unhurried grace of someone who had all the time in the world.
"What I want is simple—you'll come with me. One way or another." He tilted his head slightly, his icy eyes glinting with mischief and certainty.
"As for how I do what I do..." He smirked, voice dropping to a near whisper. "You'll find out soon enough."
The fog curled at his boots as he took a lazy step towards us.
"So… what's your choice?" he asked softly, his gaze a blend of promise and threat.