Chapter Eleven
376 Words
Chapter Eleven – The Stranger at the Table
Aurora thought the weekend had been perfect—coffee with her friends, laughter spilling until her cheeks hurt, a night of dreamless sleep for once. Monday morning, she walked into school lighter, even humming under her breath.
Then she froze.
Because sitting at their table, like he belonged there, was someone new.
Not just anyone.
He looked like a storm made flesh—dark hair, sharp jaw, eyes so intense they seemed to catch every flicker of movement in the room. He wasn't smiling like Lukas, or calm like Kael, or sharp like Maren. He sat with a kind of authority that made everyone in the cafeteria glance twice, whispering before quickly looking away.
Lukas grinned and waved her over. "Aurora! You're late. Meet our friend."
Aurora blinked. "Friend?"
The stranger's gaze lifted to hers. And for one terrifying, heart-stopping second, the world went silent.
The tug in her chest hit like a blow. Her breath caught, her pulse skittered. The strange heat she thought she'd escaped flared back to life, curling through her veins.
Daemon.
She didn't know his name yet, but some part of her did.
"This is Damon," Lukas said casually, not even noticing how pale she'd gone. "He just transferred in. Figured we'd adopt him before someone else does."
Aurora's mouth went dry. She sat slowly, every nerve in her body screaming at her to run, yet her legs refusing to move.
Daemon inclined his head slightly, never breaking her gaze. His voice was low, smooth, controlled. "Aurora."
She stiffened. "How do you—"
"Lukas talks too much," he said easily, cutting her off, though his lips curved in the faintest hint of a smirk.
Her friends laughed, the moment slipping past them as if nothing was strange. Lukas launched into another joke, Maren teased him back, Elara offered Aurora half her sandwich. The group chattered around her like normal.
But Aurora barely heard any of it.
Because the stranger at the table wasn't just a boy. He wasn't just another transfer.
Every time she glanced up, she found his golden eyes waiting, steady, patient.
Too patient.
Like he had all the time in the world to sit there and simply watch her.
- Writer
