Seraphina tried to focus on the lecture.
The professor's voice droned on at the front of the class, Maker scraping lightly against the board, words forming and dissolving into nothing in her mind. She had her pen in hand, notebook open, eyes fixed forward. But she hadn't written a single word in minutes.
Her phone vibrated against the wooden desk. A soft, subtle buzz.
Her fingers stilled.
For a moment, she didn't move and didn't breathe.
Then slowly, she turned the phone over.
Unknown number. Her stomach tightened.
Not again!
She shouldn't open it. She already knew she shouldn't. But her thumb betrayed her, pressing against the screen.
"Look outside" The words sat there on her screen.
A strange feeling crawled up her spine.
Seraphina's grip tightened around the phone as her eyes lifted slowly, almost unwillingly, toward the large windows lining the side of the lecture hall.
At first, she saw nothing.
Just the campus grounds. Trees swaying in the morning breeze. Students passing by, laughing, and talking.
Then, her breath caught.
Damon, He stood just outside the building, a few steps away from the window, still.
His presence cut through everything else like a blade.
Even from that distance, his gaze felt direct and focused on her.
Seraphina's chest tightened, her pulse picking up painfully fast.
How long had he been standing there?
How long had he been watching?
"Seraphina."
The voice beside her pulled her back slightly.
Lucien.
He sat casually next to her, holding his phone, one arm resting on the desk, his posture relaxed in a way that always seemed deliberate.
His eyes were on her now, sharp, observant.
"Have been watching you from my seat, you've been quiet," he said. "That's unusual, isn't it?."
Seraphina forced her gaze away from the window, her throat dry.
"I'm just… tired."
Lucien studied her for a second longer, his eyes flicking briefly toward the window before returning to her face.
"Tired?" he echoed, almost amused. "Or distracted?"
Her fingers tightened around her pen.
"I said I'm fine."
But she wasn't. She could still feel Damon's gaze.
Lucien leaned back slightly, and focused on his phone.
Seraphina's chest rose and fell unevenly.
The phone buzzed again. She flinched, another message.
She didn't want to open it.
She already knew it would be worse.
"Seraphina," Lucien leans forward, "What's going on?"
She stood up, too fast. The chair scraped against the floor, drawing a few glances from nearby students. The professor paused mid-sentence.
Seraphina didn't care.
"I need to go," she muttered, already gathering her things.
Lucien's brows pulled together slightly. "Go where?"
She didn't answer, didn't look at him and didn't look outside again.
She just walked out. The hallway felt too open.
Seraphina moved quickly, her steps uneven as she pushed through the doors and into another lecture hall.
Only when she turned and found herself alone did she stop.
Her breathing was shaky. Her hands weren't steady. She pulled out her phone and opened the message.
"You saw everything. Don't pretend you didn't"
Her chest tightened painfully at the sight of the message.
Another message followed.
"Run again. Let's see how far you get this time"
Seraphina locked the screen immediately, her fingers trembling.
No, no, no, no.
She needed to think, somewhere quiet, somewhere safe. The library was the only place she could think of.
*****
The familiar scent of old books and polished wood greeted her as she stepped inside.
Usually, it calmed her. Today, it didn't.
Still, she moved deeper inside, past the rows of shelves, toward the far corner where she often sat. It was quieter there, Hidden.
Or at least…it used to be.
Her eyes scanned the shelves until they landed on the book, the one she didn't finish the last time she was there.
For a brief second, something like relief flickered through her.
She reached for it and pulled it free, her fingers brushing over the familiar cover.
Maybe ... .maybe she could just sit, read, breathe for a second and forget everything for a moment.
She opened the book, and something slipped out. A folded piece of paper.
Seraphina froze. Slowly… she picked it up.
Her heart was already racing before she even opened it.
Her fingers hesitated, then unfolded it.
The smell hit her first, metallic and thick. Her stomach twisted.
It was a note written in Blood.
The words were smeared across the page in dark, uneven strokes. "Liars Don't Last Long"
Seraphina's breath hitched. Her hands started shaking.
This wasn't a coincidence. This wasn't random. Someone had been here.The person knew she was gonna be here. Someone had touched this book. Her only safe place.
Her chest tightened as her eyes darted around the library.
Students sat scattered across tables, heads bent over their work. Pages turning. Pens scratching.
Everything looked normal. But it wasn't for her
Her fingers clenched around the note as she shoved it back into the book and pushed it into her bag.
She couldn't stay here. She couldn't stay anywhere. No where was safe anymore.