Eira's POV
I had no idea how long we had been travelling.
After leaving the house behind, Adrian carried me through the forest.
The moment he moved, everything around me dissolved into a blur.
Trees streaked past us as dark shadows. The wind tore against my face, sharp and relentless, and instinctively, I tightened my arms around his shoulders.
I couldn't see where we were going.
I could barely think.
Eventually, the darkness ahead began to change.
A few dim lights appeared between the trees.
A small train station stood hidden in the middle of the forest, almost swallowed by the darkness surrounding it.
Adrian finally slowed and set me down.
My feet touched the ground, but my body still felt as though it were moving.
I steadied myself.
"Are we there?"
"No."
One word.
Of course.
Mike and Drek were already walking toward the station.
I followed.
A few minutes later, the distant rumble of an approaching train broke through the silence.
An old train emerged from the darkness.
It looked forgotten by the world, yet somehow, it was still running.
We boarded.
I took the seat beside the window.
Adrian sat across from me.
The train began to move.
For the first time since we'd left, I had nothing to do except sit and breathe.
I rested my head against the glass.
The forest slipped past outside, dark and endless.
Minutes became hours.
Slowly, the trees began to thin.
The darkness outside gradually gave way to a pale, unfamiliar light.
Then I noticed something white drifting through the air.
Snow.
At first, only a few flakes touched the window.
Then more appeared.
The farther we travelled, the heavier the snowfall became.
Soon, the entire world outside had disappeared beneath white.
Trees.
Fields.
Mountains.
Everything was covered in snow.
I stared through the glass.
"We're somewhere cold."
Drek glanced outside.
"Very."
I looked at Mike.
"Where are we going?"
"Forestvale."
The name settled strangely in my mind.
Forestvale.
A place hidden far beyond everything we had left behind.
I turned back toward the window.
The farther we travelled, the more isolated the world became.
When the train finally stopped, we stepped outside.
The cold struck me immediately.
I gasped.
The air burned my lungs.
I wrapped my arms around myself.
Within minutes, my fingers began to lose their feeling.
I glanced at Adrian.
He stood beside me without the slightest reaction.
No shiver.
No discomfort.
Nothing.
Mike started walking.
"Come on."
I followed.
The snow was deep, swallowing my boots with every step.
My legs grew heavier.
The cold seeped through my clothes and settled deep into my bones.
I tried to ignore it.
One step.
Then another.
But gradually, the distance between me and the others widened.
My thighs ached.
My fingers had become almost completely numb.
Still, I forced myself forward.
Then Adrian stopped.
I nearly walked into him.
"I'm fine."
His eyes travelled over me.
"You can't feel your fingers."
I looked down.
He was right.
"I can still walk."
His gaze remained on me.
Then he turned around and crouched slightly.
"Get on."
I sighed.
"Adrian…"
"You're slowing down."
"I can walk."
His eyes met mine.
"You can't."
There was no irritation in his voice.
No argument.
Just certainty.
Reluctantly, I climbed onto his back.
My arms slipped around his shoulders.
His body was cold beneath my hands.
Then he moved.
The world disappeared.
Snow and trees became streaks of white and black.
The wind tore past my ears.
I tightened my hold around him.
"Adrian!"
"What?"
"You could have warned me."
A faint trace of amusement touched his voice.
"You wouldn't have had time to prepare."
I frowned.
"That isn't reassuring."
He said nothing.
The amusement vanished.
I rested my cheek against his shoulder.
The wind continued rushing around us.
Yet somehow, I wasn't afraid.
Not with him.
The realization unsettled me.
Eventually, he slowed.
I opened my eyes.
A house stood ahead, surrounded by snow-covered trees.
It wasn't large, but it was spacious enough for all of us.
There was a kitchen, several rooms, a living area, a fireplace, food, water, blankets, firewood—everything we could possibly need.
A place meant to disappear in.
Adrian lowered me carefully.
Mike opened the door.
Warm air immediately touched my face.
"Everyone, get some rest."
No one argued.
We went inside.
I followed Elisa to one of the rooms.
Once the door closed behind me, I sat on the edge of the bed and pulled the blanket around myself.
I was still freezing.
I rubbed my hands together and looked toward the window.
Snow continued falling outside.
Everything was quiet.
Too quiet.
My thoughts returned to the journey.
To Adrian carrying me through the forest.
To the way he had noticed my frozen hands without me saying a word.
To the way he had stopped without being asked.
He never said he was worried.
He never said he cared.
He simply acted.
And somehow, that made him even harder to understand.
A knock sounded at the door.
I looked up.
"Come in."
The door opened.
Adrian stood there.
A bowl of steaming soup rested in his hand.
For a moment, I simply stared at it.
"What is that?"
"Soup."
He crossed the room and placed it beside my bed.
"Drink it."
My fingers tightened around the blanket.
"You brought this for me?"
His gaze dropped briefly to my hands.
"You were freezing."
That was all.
No explanation.
No softness.
Yet somehow, those three words unsettled me more than they should have.
I wrapped my hands around the warm bowl.
Heat slowly returned to my fingers.
"Thank you."
He didn't answer.
Instead, he turned toward the fireplace.
He crouched beside it and arranged the wood with practiced ease. Then he pulled a lighter from his pocket.
A small flame appeared.
He touched it to the wood.
The fire caught immediately.
Warm light spread across the room.
The cold slowly began to retreat.
I watched him.
He rose.
For a moment, his black eyes met mine.
Then he turned toward the door.
Something inside me tightened.
"Adrian."
He stopped.
He didn't turn.
His back remained toward me, his gaze fixed on the flames dancing in the fireplace.
"Why?"
Silence.
"Why do you protect me?"
His hand settled around the doorknob.
Still, he said nothing.
"Why do you keep doing all of this without me asking?"
His fingers tightened slightly.
"You always know what I need before I even say anything."
His shoulders remained rigid.
"You tell me to stay away from you."
Nothing.
"You tell me you're dangerous."
A subtle tension appeared in his posture.
"But whenever something happens…"
My voice faltered.
"…you're there."
He didn't move.
"You saved me."
The fire crackled behind him.
"You carried me here."
His head lowered by the slightest fraction.
"You risk yourself for me."
His hand tightened around the handle.
"And you risk everyone else."
He went completely still.
I swallowed.
"If I mean nothing to you…"
The words became harder to force out.
"…why do you keep doing it?"
No answer.
"Why do you keep coming back?"
He continued staring into the fire.
My eyes burned.
"Why won't you just let me hate you?"
His fingers curled around the doorknob.
Still, he didn't turn.
I stared at his back, searching for something—anything—that might tell me my words had reached him.
There was nothing.
"Have you ever felt anything for me?"
The question hung between us.
He remained motionless.
My chest tightened.
"If you don't feel anything for me…"
My voice broke.
"…then let me die."
His shoulders stiffened.
Just once.
Then stillness returned.
I waited.
Nothing.
"If I mean nothing to you, then stop saving me."
A tear slipped down my cheek.
I wiped it away quickly.
Another followed.
"If you don't feel anything for me…"
My voice dropped to a whisper.
"…why does any of this matter?"
The fire continued to burn.
He continued to stare into it.
The silence became unbearable.
"Why does it matter if Jake takes me?"
His hand slowly curled into a fist.
I saw the movement.
But he still didn't turn.
My heart sank.
"Why does it matter if I disappear from your life?"
Nothing.
Something inside me broke.
I closed my eyes.
"Then let Jake take me."
My voice barely existed.
"Let me die."
He turned.
Instantly.
Before I could take another breath, his hand closed around my wrist.
The sudden force pulled me toward him.
My back struck the wall.
I gasped.
His other arm locked around my waist.
The distance between us vanished.
His body pressed close to mine.
His grip was firm.
Unyielding.
My wrist throbbed beneath his fingers.
His arm around my waist tightened.
Pain shot through my side.
I winced.
But it was nothing compared to the ache already tearing through my chest.
His face was inches from mine.
His black eyes were dark with fury.
The restraint he had maintained for so long had finally cracked.
"If he touches even your shadow…"
His voice was low.
Deadly.
"…I'll kill him."
My breath caught.
"Adrian…"
His grip tightened again.
Then he pulled me closer.
So close that there was barely any space left between us.
Pain flashed through my waist.
But the pain in my heart was worse.
Far worse.
His eyes searched mine.
"I won't let anything happen to you."
The words came with absolute certainty.
No hesitation.
No room for argument.
A tear slipped down my cheek.
His gaze followed it.
For a moment, he said nothing.
Then his voice dropped.
"Why, Eira?"
I stared at him.
His grip remained firm around my waist.
"Why do you want an answer?"
His voice was quieter now.
Rougher.
I couldn't look away.
"What will it change?"
I remained silent.
His jaw tightened.
"It can't change what I am."
His fingers flexed against my waist.
"My feelings can't change that, Eira."
He looked away for a brief second.
Then his eyes returned to mine.
"I'm a vampire."
His voice became colder.
"A creature that survives on blood."
Something dark passed through his eyes.
"I am what I am."
His fist suddenly struck the wall beside my head.
Bang.
I flinched.
A crack splintered through the wood.
Blood spread across his knuckles.
He stared at his hand.
Then a quiet, bitter laugh escaped him.
"See?"
He lifted his eyes to mine.
"I can't even feel the pain."
My gaze moved from his bleeding knuckles to his face.
Something inside me twisted.
"I don't deserve love."
His voice was almost emotionless.
Almost.
"I don't deserve any of it."
He paused.
"Love. Happiness."
His eyes lowered.
"Anything that can make you feel alive."
My breath caught.
Then he looked back at me.
"I am dead, Eira."
The words were quiet.
Almost frighteningly calm.
"A dead person who can't feel anything."
Something in my chest tightened.
His expression remained unreadable.
"I stopped feeling a long time ago."
His gaze hardened.
"Creatures like me don't love, Eira."
My breath caught.
"We only destroy."
The words settled between us like a sentence.
His eyes held mine.
"We destroy whatever gets close."
He swallowed the next breath as though even saying those words had cost him something.
"And if you keep coming closer…"
His voice dropped to a whisper.
"…I'll destroy you too."
My lips parted.
"Adrian…"
His finger touched my lips.
I froze.
"Shh."
His eyes held mine.
"Don't."
The word was barely audible.
"I can only hurt you."
His finger slowly left my lips.
"I can only give you pain, Eira."
Tears filled my eyes.
His gaze dropped to them.
Something flickered across his expression.
Gone almost before I could understand it.
"Don't try to come near me."
His voice hardened.
"Don't make this harder than it already is."
His hand rose again.
His fingers touched my cheek.
The contrast nearly shattered me.
Those same hands that had just struck the wall were impossibly gentle against my skin.
His thumb brushed away my tear.
He didn't pull away.
For a moment, everything else disappeared.
The fire.
The snow.
The room.
There was only his hand against my cheek and the unbearable intensity of his eyes.
His thumb lingered beneath my eye.
His gaze dropped briefly to my lips.
My breath caught.
His jaw tightened.
For one suspended moment, neither of us moved.
Then his eyes lifted back to mine.
His voice came quieter than before.
"I am fire, Eira."
My heart stumbled.
His fingers remained against my cheek.
Then his hand slid gently along my jaw.
"Don't come close to me."
His other hand returned to my waist.
Before I could react, he pulled me toward him again.
Harder.
Closer.
The last space between us disappeared.
My breath caught.
His face was only inches from mine.
His fingers tightened at my waist as though he were fighting an instinct he could barely contain.
"I will burn you."
The words were barely above a whisper.
His eyes held mine.
There was no anger in them now.
Only restraint.
And something far more dangerous.
My heartbeat thundered in my chest.
His thumb moved slowly along my cheek.
For one suspended moment, neither of us moved.
He stared at me as though coming any closer would destroy the last piece of control he had left.
Then his expression changed.
A decision.
His hands fell away.
He stepped back so abruptly that the sudden distance stole my breath.
Once.
Twice.
His chest rose with a controlled breath.
His expression hardened again, the walls returning so quickly it was almost frightening.
I stared at him.
"Adrian…"
He looked away.
"Don't."
His voice was strained.
Not angry.
Something else.
Something he refused to let me see.
He turned toward the door.
His hand closed around the handle.
But before he opened it, he spoke.
"You and I are two different worlds, Eira."
His voice was quiet.
"You don't belong in mine."
The door opened.
For one impossible second, I thought he might look back.
He didn't.
He walked away.
The door closed softly behind him.
I remained against the wall.
My body still remembered the pressure of his arms.
My wrist still tingled where his fingers had closed around it.
My waist still ached where he had held me.
But none of that compared to the ache inside my chest.
I slowly raised my fingers to my cheek.
I could still feel the coldness of his touch.
And his words echoed through my mind.
I am fire, Eira.
Don't come close to me.
I will burn you.
He hadn't confessed anything.
He hadn't told me that I mattered.
But when I had said Jake's name, he had finally turned.
And suddenly, his silence no longer felt empty.
It felt like the only thing holding back everything he refused to say.
For the first time, I understood that Adrian's greatest fear might not be hurting me.
It might be wanting me enough to lose control.
And perhaps that was the truth between us—
not what we had said,
but everything we had left unspoken.