The wind howled through the skeletal trees, their branches clawing at the bruised sky as if trying to tear it open. Lila pulled her coat tighter around her, the chill seeping into her bones. The campus was nearly deserted, the few students hurrying past with their heads down, eyes averted. It was as if the oppressive atmosphere had leached the warmth from everyone, leaving only shadows in its wake.
She quickened her pace, her boots crunching over fallen leaves. The letter in her pocket felt like a lead weight, the words scrawled in ink that had bled into the paper like a wound. *Meet me at the old chapel. Midnight. He knows.* No signature, just those cryptic words that had sent her pulse racing.
Lila hadn't told anyone—not even Cassie, her roommate, who'd been watching her with worried eyes for days. How could she explain the dreams? The whispers that slithered into her mind when the moon was high, the voice that called her name in a language she shouldn't understand but somehow did?
The chapel loomed ahead, its spire piercing the storm-laden clouds. The doors groaned as she pushed them open, the scent of damp stone and old incense thick in the air. Candles flickered in the draft, their light barely holding back the darkness.
"You came."
The voice sent a shiver down her spine. She turned, and there he was—Elias, leaning against a pew with his arms crossed. His dark eyes gleamed in the candlelight, too sharp, too knowing. He'd been avoiding her since that night in the library, when the world had tilted and she'd seen something—*something*—move in the shadows behind him.
"What do you mean, *he knows*?" Lila demanded, her voice steadier than she felt. "Who's *he*?"
Elias exhaled, running a hand through his hair. "You've felt it, haven't you? The way the air changes when he's near. The way people here… *change*."
A memory surfaced—Professor Vayne's smile, too wide, his teeth just a little too sharp when he'd leaned over her desk last week. The way her skin had prickled, her breath catching for no reason at all.
"You're not making sense," she said, but her hands trembled.
Elias stepped closer, his voice dropping to a whisper. "This town wasn't always like this. Something's waking up, Lila. And it's hungry."
A gust of wind slammed the chapel doors shut behind her, the candles snuffing out in unison. Darkness swallowed them whole.
Lila gasped, her heart hammering. She could feel Elias's breath on her cheek, his fingers brushing hers in the blackness. "Don't be afraid," he murmured, though his own voice was taut with tension. "But you need to listen. The things you've been dreaming about—they're not just dreams. They're memories."
Her breath hitched. "That's impossible."
"Is it?" His thumb traced the inside of her wrist, and suddenly, the world *shifted*.
She was standing in a moonlit glade, the air thick with the scent of wildflowers and something darker, something metallic. A figure knelt in the grass, their back to her, shoulders shaking. The moonlight caught on the dagger in their hand, the crimson dripping from its edge.
Lila tried to scream, but no sound came out. The figure turned—
And she was back in the chapel, gasping, Elias's hands gripping her shoulders. "You saw it," he said, his voice rough. "You remember."
She shoved him away, her chest heaving. "What the hell was that?"
"The truth," he said, his eyes burning with an intensity that made her stomach twist. "You and I—we've been here before. And he won't stop until he's taken everything this time."
Footsteps echoed outside the chapel, slow and deliberate. Elias went rigid, his head snapping toward the sound. "He's here."
Lila's blood turned to ice. "Who?"
The doors burst open.
Professor Vayne stood in the threshold, his smile serene, his eyes black as the void. "Ah," he said, his voice like silk over steel. "I was wondering when you'd finally figure it out."
Elias moved in front of Lila, his body tense. "Run."
But her feet were rooted to the spot. The air thickened, the shadows writhing at Vayne's feet, stretching toward her like grasping hands.
"You can't outrun fate, my dear," Vayne murmured, stepping forward. "Not when your heart already belongs to the night."
Elias snarled, something feral flashing in his eyes. "She's *mine*."
The words sent a shock through her, a recognition deeper than thought. The dreams, the whispers—they hadn't been warnings.
They'd been a call.
And now, the moonlit heart was finally awake.