The night air carried a bitter chill, heavy with whispers that made the academy grounds feel haunted. Elena pulled her cloak tighter around herself, but no fabric could shield her from the storm brewing between Adrian and Damian.
Her heart raced. Damian had changed. The boy she once knew—the dependable senior who guided her through exams, the one who had encouraged her to dream bigger—was gone. His eyes now burned with a feverish glow, crimson like molten iron. His aura felt sharp, suffocating, as though shadows bent around him.
"Elena," Damian's voice cracked the silence. It was raw, torn between pleading and commanding. "Stay away from him. He'll consume you."
She flinched. A part of her still heard the familiar warmth in his tone, but another part recoiled from the madness simmering beneath it. "Damian… what happened to you?"
Before he could answer, Adrian stepped forward, his presence cutting through the tension like a blade. He stood with deceptive ease, one hand buried in his coat pocket, the other resting lightly on Elena's shoulder. His touch grounded her, though she knew it was also a silent declaration of ownership.
"What happened to him?" Adrian's lips curved into a cold, cruel smile. "He broke. Couldn't handle being second. Couldn't handle that you chose me."
Damian's jaw clenched. "She didn't choose you. You forced her into your world!" His gaze darted to Elena, desperate. "Tell me, Elena. Tell me you don't want this… this monster."
Elena's lips parted, but no words came. How could she explain the contradiction raging inside her? Adrian terrified her, yet he made her feel alive, safe in the most dangerous way. Damian reminded her of her past, of innocence and comfort—but now that same comfort felt tainted, strangled by his obsession.
Adrian leaned closer to her ear, his voice low, intimate, meant only for her. "See how he trembles? He's unraveling. He'll drag you down with him." His breath brushed against her skin, sending shivers down her spine. "You belong here, Elena. With me."
Her knees nearly buckled. The way he said it—like a vow and a curse in one—wrapped around her soul.
Damian's aura flared, dark energy whipping through the courtyard. The lamplight flickered, casting monstrous shadows across his face. "If you won't leave him, then I'll tear him away from you!"
A swirl of black fire ignited in his palm. Elena gasped, instinctively stepping back, but Adrian didn't flinch. His grin widened, sharp as a predator's.
"So he finally bares his fangs," Adrian said, voice dripping with amusement. "Took you long enough, senior."
The ground shuddered as Damian released the fireball, aiming straight for Adrian. Elena screamed—
But in the blink of an eye, Adrian had pulled her flush against his chest, spinning them out of harm's way. The fireball exploded against the stone wall, leaving a charred crater. Debris rained around them, and Elena clutched Adrian's coat, trembling.
"You see?" Adrian murmured against her hair, his arm like steel around her waist. "He doesn't want to protect you. He wants to destroy everything that keeps you from him. That's not love, Elena. That's hunger."
Damian's voice roared through the smoke. "Better hunger than possession! At least I'm still human!"
Adrian's laughter rang out, low and dangerous. "Human? No, Damian. You traded that away the moment you reached for power." His crimson eyes glowed like burning embers. "And now… you've made yourself my equal. Which means I can finally crush you without restraint."
Elena's breath caught. Equal? Did that mean—?
Damian raised another surge of black fire, his face twisted with desperation. "I won't let you take her, Adrian! Not when she was mine first!"
Adrian turned his head, his lips brushing the shell of Elena's ear. "Listen closely, darling," he whispered, his tone like silk over daggers. "This will be the last time anyone dares to claim you."
Before she could react, Adrian released her and stepped forward, his aura erupting like a tidal wave. Shadows poured out from beneath his feet, swirling into a vortex that devoured the courtyard light. The air grew heavy, choking, filled with the metallic tang of blood and brimstone.
The clash was cataclysmic. Damian hurled flames; Adrian answered with spears of shadow. Sparks and darkness collided, painting the night sky in chaos.
But what froze Elena wasn't the destruction—it was the way Adrian fought. Every strike was precise, controlled, not wild like Damian's. He wasn't just battling for power. He was battling for her. Every glance he threw back, every smirk as he pushed Damian further back, screamed a single truth: You are mine.
"Elena!" Damian shouted mid-battle, his voice breaking. "Don't let him chain you! Remember what we were! Remember who I was to you!"
Tears stung her eyes. She did remember. The afternoons spent studying under the old oak, the quiet laughter, the sense of safety. But those memories felt like pages from another lifetime, crumbling under the weight of the man standing before her now.
Adrian's shadows wrapped around Damian's fire, snuffing it out with brutal ease. In one final motion, Adrian slammed him against the cracked wall, pinning him with a clawed hand at his throat.
"Remember this, senior," Adrian snarled, his voice vibrating with demonic power. "She was never yours. She never will be. Elena chose me the moment she trembled in my arms, and I don't let go of what's mine."
Damian struggled, his eyes burning with anguish, but the fight had drained from him. Adrian let him fall, coughing, to the ground.
Silence stretched. Smoke curled upward. Elena's chest heaved, her body torn between relief and dread.
Adrian turned to her, his expression softening only slightly. He extended his hand. "Come here."
Her feet felt heavy, but her body moved anyway. When her hand touched his, his grip was firm, unyielding. He pulled her against him once more, resting his forehead against hers.
"You see now," he whispered, voice raw but steady. "No one else can stand beside you. No one else can keep you alive. Only me. Only the devil you fear—and crave."
Elena closed her eyes, her tears finally falling. Her heart screamed with confusion, yet her soul… her soul knew it was true.
She belonged to him.
Even if it meant being possessed forever.