Page 32 of A Touch of Darkness

He steps closer, his voice low and steady. “You will learn, Sylvie. It won’t happen all at once, but you will learn. And I’ll help you. Blackthorne can help you. It’s part of the reason you’re here. Why your parents came here. Why fate led you here.”

I glance back at him, surprised by the sincerity in his voice. There’s something in his eyes now—something softer than I’ve ever seen before. Something that makes my heart beat a little faster. “Why are you helping me?” I ask, my voice trembling slightly. “You barely know me.”

His gaze softens even more, and he takes another step forward, close enough that I can feel the heat of his presence. “I know you more than you think, Sylvie. I’ve watched you grow, watched you fight, and watched you make choices that shaped your fate. That shapedmyfate. But this is not for you to know now. We’ll talk about this once you get your bearings and things settle for you.” His voice drops. “For now, I may not know all of what’s coming, but I do know one thing. You have the strength to handle this. To change what’s written. If anyone can, it’s you.”

His words feel like a lifeline, like an anchor, though they don’t fully ease the mixture of confusion and pain inside me. I’m still reeling from everything that’s happened in the last twenty-four hours—Lara’s death, Isabel’s cryptic warnings, and the revelation that I’m part of some ancient prophecy. My head feels like it’s going to explode, and I don’t know how to breathe through it all.

He watches me, his eyes flicking to the door behind me, where the echoes of my frantic pounding still seem to hang in the air. “There are people who will try to help. And there are those who will try to stop you. But you have to be ready. For what’s coming. For what’s already started.”

My chest tightens as his words sink in, but before I can respond, there’s a sudden knock at the door.

I turn, startled. Who?—

“Professor?” a voice calls from the other side, soft but insistent. “Is she all right?”

It’s Rebecca. I recognize her voice immediately.

Lucian’s expression darkens, and he looks at me, his gaze hardening with what I can only describe as worry. “Your friends,” he mutters under his breath. “They need to know what’s going on. They can help you, too.”

I nod, though my head is spinning too fast to focus on anything but the fact that Lara is still speaking to me in my mind. That she’s still here, but she’s not, and that I don’t understand what any of this means.

He steps away from me and opens the door, his voice low and controlled. “Come in, Rebecca. We need to talk.”

Rebecca steps inside, her eyes immediately locking on me. She looks at me with concern, but something in her eyes shifts when she sees the stiffness in my posture. She must sense something’s off. “Sylvie,” she says softly, her voice almost a whisper, “Are you okay?” She walks over to me swiftly and wraps me in her warm embrace. I’ve never been someone who likes physical touch, but for some reason, I find myself melting into her, nodding stiffly to answer her question.

I don’t feel okay. I don’t feel anything but a hollow weight in my chest, a sense of loss that won’t go away. But for whatever reason, I nod anyway.

Rebecca glances at the professor, then back at me. “I know what Isabel told you. I’ll explain how, but just know...vampires aren’t behind this, Sylvie. It’s the Society. You have to believe me.” She pauses to take a shuddering breath. “We witches have never been ones to stick up for vamps, but what the Society is doing is wrong. They are lying to you, and I can feel it.”

I close my eyes for a brief moment, needing an escape.

Rebecca rattles on and her words become a blur, a cacophony of nothingness that makes no sense.

“I shouldn’t have been tapping into your thoughts, but I wanted to protect you. I heard her lies, and I know how tempting it might?—”

I hold up a hand to stop her, and she does, her words halting.

“I believe you,” I tell her, nodding, looking into her eyes that gleam, matching my own.

I believe her because I believe Lara, and I know—somehow—she is truly speaking to me from somewhere else. I may not be able to understand how, but she is.

I couldn’t save Lara—the least I can do now is honor her.

Believe her.

Fight for her.

To embody everything she was and get the justice she deserves…

If it’s the last fucking thing I do.

Once Rebecca has left and Professor Draedon and I have made our way to his office—because I still need more answers, and I don’t plan on leaving him alone until I get them—I decide to ask the question that’s been edging closer to the surface. My brain is trying to make sense of all of the information I’ve learned but I feel like the pieces aren’t adding up.

“I want to know more about vampires. More about your curse. I’m trying to wrap my head around this, Professor, but my mind goes directly toTwilight.”

His smirk shows me there’s much to be learned.

We’re sitting at his desk now, him behind and me directly in front, only the old wood separating us. The soft glow of a few sconces dimly light up the space, but there’s an eerie shadow that lingers in the corners of the room.

---