Morning came gently over Lucid City, washing the skyline in pale gold and soft mist, the echoes of last night's dream still lingered in Riah's chest — "You shouldn't call for me, Riah, because I might not stop."
Lucian's voice haunted the edges of her mind like smoke that refused to fade,she opened her eyes slowly, exhaustion still clinging to her like a second skin, her body felt heavy, her thoughts scattered, yet she forced herself to rise. Another day awaited her, another round of polite smiles and quiet endurance,Riah smoothed her sheets, brushed her hair into place, and moved through her small apartment in silence, the world outside was already humming cars, chatter, distant music, but her heart remained oddly still. Befire heading to work, she turned toward the familiar hallway that led to her mother's room, the door creaked softly as she pushed it open, her mother was already awake, seated by the window, sunlight spilling over her wrinkled hands.
"Good morning, Mama," Riah said, her voice warm but weary, "Morning, my dear," her mother smiled faintly. "You're up early again".
Riah placed a tray on the small bedside table warm porridge, slices of fruit, and a glass of water. She handed over her mother's medication, watching carefully as she took them, "You treat me too well," her mother said after a moment, eyes glistening with affection. "Sometimes I wonder what I did to deserve you." Riah smiled, brushing a stray lock of hair from her mother's face, "You raised me, that's more than enough reason mama." Her mother's hand covered hers, fragile but firm. "Don't forget to live for yourself too, Riah have fun, go out with Nessa, meet someone who will love you more than your papa loved me." The words followed her even after she left the house. The day unfolded quietly at marcus's house,the routine felt heavier than usual the soft sound of dropping drips, the low hum of voices, the faint scent of green tea hanging in the air, marcus was always excited to see riah, shr checked his vital to his the improvement of his sleeping disorder,leaning against his bed with that familiar calm expression,Marcus whispered "you look tired miss sunny", Riah smiled warmly at him, " I'm alright Marcus don't worry about me."
He studied her for a moment, as though searching her expression for the truth, then simply nodded, every now and then, Riah caught herself glancing at the window, expecting to see a shadow where there was none. Her chest felt heavy as if the air itself had remembered something she was trying to forget, she reached for a palette, but her fingers brushed against cold glass instead, as shiver ran through her spine, the room wasn't cold yet it felt like a chill had settled over her skin,"Marcus," she began softly, not even sure why, hm, he hummed in response, eyes closed,she wanted to say she keeps hearing voices, and it's becoming louder,she just wanted to say the voice won't leave me alone, but the words stayed stucked somewhere behind her throat. She forced a small laugh instead. "Never mind, how's your head." He didn't press, and she was grateful, something in the corner of her vision flickered, a faint glint almost like the shimmer of silver light passed across the mirror beside the shelf, she turned quickly, but it was gone, her pulse quickened, "It's just your imagination," she whispered,she bit down on her lip. "I'm really losing it," she muttered, reaching for the pen that wasn't there because it had rolled off the table.
When she bent to pick it up, the faintest scent drifted to her nose woody smoke and rain. Her breath hitched. "Lucian" riah whispered , the scent didn't belong here, she stood straight ,searching for where the scent was coming from.
Yet, in that same heartbeat, far away across the city, Lucian froze where he stood,a soft wind moved through the street, carrying his name like a whisper only he could hear, though he told himself not to answer he already knew it was too late, he cursed under his breath. "You called again," he murmured, low enough for only the wind to hear, his reflection in the glass looked almost human until his irises tightened indicating the black vertical slit in the center of his his blue dark eyes.The eye gleamed like a curse cast in blue fire cold, alive, and ancient beyond reckoning, Its slit pupil cut through the light like a blade, watching not the world, but the souls that dared to exist within it, beneath that glow, something moved hunger, power, memory twisting in silence, the scales around it shimmered with a ghostly sheen, as though the darkness itself bent to its will. To meet that gaze was to feel seen, stripped bare, and marked by something far older than fear. Lucian clenched his fists inside his coat pockets, willing the pull to fade, but the more he resisted, the stronger it became like a thread tightening around his chest, dragging him toward her no matter how far he tried to stay, he closed his eyes, and the noise of Lucid City dimmed the traffic, the chatter, the sirens, all of it dissolved until he could hear only one thing. Her heartbeat uneven, nervous and calling, lucian inhaled sharply. "Not again," he muttered, but his body betrayed him his energy shifting, shadows rippling faintly beneath his feet,he stared down at the city from his window , dragging his hand through his hair. "Damn it, Riah…" he muttered under his breath again, his voice carried a roughness, equal parts anger and ache. A low voice echoed faintly behind him, carried by the whispering wind, you cant avoid this feeling forever you know that don't you , you know your slipping again, aren't you?. Lucian turned sharply, but no one was there, only the faint shimmer of his reflection in a puddle eyes glowing dark blue, he exhaled, his tone bitter, "I know I am."Then, softer, "but she called… and I can't ignore her." Lucian walked back to his chair as he rest his head on his chair.
On the other side of the city, Nessa had buried herself in work—schedules, reports, back-to-back meetings, anything to fight the urge to call Louis. But no matter how many emails she sent or how many files she reviewed, his face kept slipping through her thoughts, the memory of that night, the way his eyes darkened, the way his lips tasted faintly of danger and warmth refused to fade, she tried to push away the image of the blood incident, the fear that flickered behind his expression afterward, something about the way he reacted… it had unsettled her deeply, another board meeting came and went, but Louis was nowhere to be found, his empty seat at the end of the long glass table felt louder than any voice in the room,
By the time the meeting ended, Nessa could no longer hold it in, she grabbed her phone and dialed his number before she overthinks it, she dials once, No answer.Twice, Still nothing. By the fifth attempt, her hands were trembling, hot and helpless, she typed quickly as frustration washed over her. She typed: Don't push me away Louis,Don't do that please, not after kissing me yesterday making me feel wanted, making me feel things I only watched in a movie, I've never felt this away about anyone Louis, so please don't push me away , let me in , let me share whatever it is your carrying please talk to me, this all I want I'm at my peek, I could go crazy if you keep pushing me away, so please don't run away from me just let me stay with you.
She hit send, then dropped the phone onto her desk and sank back into her chair, the office lights hummed quietly above her. Hours passed,Still no reply that same sharp disappointment returned, pressing against her ribs like a bruise she couldn't hide anymore, "Why, Louis?" she whispered, voice breaking. "Why won't you let me have you?"her throat tightened as tears threatened to fall, she swiped them away, gathered her things, and shut down her computer, the room felt hollow without his voice echoing in her mind.