Episode 3
394 Words
The Meeting
The old library on North Street looked abandoned.
Its tall windows were dusty, and ivy crawled up the stone walls like it was trying to hide the building from the world. Elara stood across the street, her school bag slung over her shoulder, heart pounding as she stared at the entrance.
Every part of her told her to turn back.
But Lucian’s words echoed in her mind.
Staying where you are is riskier.
She crossed the street.
Inside, the air smelled of old paper and silence. Rows of empty shelves stretched into the shadows. A single light glowed near the back.
“You came.”
Elara spun around.
Lucian stepped out from between two shelves, his dark coat brushing the floor. In person, he looked even more intense, his eyes sharp but not unkind.
“I wasn’t sure if you would,” he added.
“I almost didn’t,” she admitted.
For a moment, neither of them spoke. The quiet between them felt thick with things unsaid.
“You shouldn’t have been there that night,” Lucian finally said.
“I didn’t mean to be,” Elara replied. “I just… wandered.”
His jaw tightened. “That meeting wasn’t supposed to have any witnesses. The men you saw don’t forgive mistakes.”
Her chest tightened. “So they’re coming for me?”
“Yes.” He didn’t soften the truth. “But they won’t reach you.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because they answer to me more than they realize.”
Elara studied him. “You’re part of it, aren’t you?”
Lucian hesitated. “I was born into it.”
That honesty surprised her.
“So what happens now?” she asked.
Lucian stepped closer, lowering his voice. “For now, you stay close to me. I’ll make sure no one gets near you.”
Her heart raced — not just from fear, but from the strange pull between them.
“I don’t even know you,” she said quietly.
“I know,” he replied. “But you will.”
A noise echoed from outside — footsteps.
Lucian’s expression changed instantly. “We’re not alone.”
Elara’s breath caught.
“Stay behind me,” he said.
And in that moment, she knew one thing for sure:
Her life would never be the same again.
- Writer
