Chapter Four - Separation Hurts, Hunger Binds
1463 Words
❖ Silverthorne University – Evelyn’s Dormitory
The silver gates of Silverthorne University loomed before her—ornate, old, and carved with symbols Evelyn didn’t understand.
The sun cast long shadows over the gothic architecture of the school, its tall towers and ivy-stained walls like something out of a dark fairytale. But this was her new reality.
Alone.
She clutched her shoulder bag tighter as she walked up the steps toward the administration building, Magnus’s voice echoing in her mind.
> “You’ll be safe here. Away from… me.”
Why did that make her feel worse?
A part of her wanted to run back. To demand answers. But she had nothing to hold onto except the pain of knowing that something inside her wanted to be near him—craved him. And she didn’t know why.
Her room was small but cozy, with pale curtains, a twin bed, and a simple wooden desk by the window. Her roommate hadn’t arrived yet.
> “New place, new start,” she whispered to herself.
She was just unpacking when the door swung open.
A girl stood there, wearing a black oversized hoodie and plaid pants. Pierced nose, short hair dyed crimson, and a suspicious glance.
“You the vampire prince’s girlfriend?” she asked bluntly.
Evelyn blinked. “What?”
The girl dropped her duffel bag. “Joking. I’m Ivy. You’re Evelyn, right?”
Evelyn nodded slowly.
“Cool. I talk too much when I’m nervous,” Ivy admitted, flopping onto her bed. “But don’t worry, I won’t ask questions. You look like someone who’s had way too many answers thrown at you already.”
Something about her presence was oddly comforting.
Maybe she wouldn’t be entirely alone after all.
---
❖ Draven Penthouse – Midnight
The penthouse felt colder without her.
Magnus sat in the dark, fingers laced, back rigid against the leather armchair. Rain tapped gently against the windows.
He hadn’t moved in hours.
“Still pretending this is fine?” Arnold asked from the couch.
“She’s safer there.”
“You’re dying here.”
Magnus said nothing.
Arnold stood and crossed the room. “You’re trembling again. You can’t even sleep. When are you going to admit this is killing you?”
“It’s temporary.”
“You made a mistake,” Arnold growled. “Sending her away doesn’t fix what’s happening between you.”
Magnus’ eyes glowed faint red.
“I know,” he whispered.
Arnold exhaled, suddenly softer. “You think distance will break the bond? It doesn’t. She’s not just blood to you. She’s something else. Something ancient.”
“I feel it,” Magnus admitted. “Every night. My skin burns. My bones ache. I hear her breathing when I close my eyes.”
“Then bring her back.”
Magnus stood suddenly, jaw clenched.
“If she stays with me, she’ll die. I can’t protect her from what I become when the hunger takes over.”
Arnold stepped closer. “And if she’s what heals that hunger?”
Magnus looked away.
He didn’t have the answer.
---
❖ Silverthorne University – Two Days Later
Evelyn wandered the quiet campus at dusk, her hoodie pulled tight around her shoulders.
Classes were strange. The world felt distant. She couldn’t remember anything before Magnus, and everything since him seemed to be a blur of heat, hunger, and fear… except when he looked at her.
Ivy had become her closest companion—perhaps her only one. Loud, sarcastic, and weirdly perceptive.
“You’ve got vampire withdrawal,” Ivy teased one afternoon in the library.
Evelyn blushed. “What?”
“You sigh every ten minutes like a heartbroken anime heroine. You also haven’t eaten lunch in two days. That’s gotta be some kind of supernatural symptom.”
“I’m just… confused.”
“Fair. But you should know—everyone here talks about him. Magnus Draven. The recluse billionaire with eyes like frostbite and a heart like a tomb.”
Evelyn looked down.
“He’s not like that,” she whispered.
Ivy smirked. “Oh honey, I believe you. Nobody looks that miserable over someone unless they matter.”
---
❖ Magnus’ Apartment – That Night
Magnus stood in the shower, water scalding hot. It didn’t help.
The hunger had returned full-force.
His body ached. His jaw locked. He bit his own wrist just to stop from imagining her neck.
> “Her blood sings to me…”
He slammed his palm into the tile wall hard enough to crack it.
He’d made the right choice. He knew it.
So why did it feel like something inside him was tearing?
The moment he closed his eyes, her scent returned—warm, soft, like moonlight and blood. The bond hadn’t faded.
It had intensified.
He didn’t hear Arnold enter the room until the knock came against the wall outside the steam-filled bathroom.
“You need to see this,” Arnold said.
“I’m not in the mood.”
“She passed out in class.”
Magnus’ eyes snapped open.
“What?”
“Evelyn. One of my shadows followed her on your orders. She collapsed. Her vitals were fine… but she was pale. Cold.”
Magnus was out of the shower in seconds.
“It’s the bond,” Arnold said, holding a towel out. “It’s hurting both of you.”
“I’m bringing her back.”
---
❖ Elsewhere – Lilith’s Chambers
In a candlelit chamber lined with old vampire texts and glass cases filled with bones and bloodstones, Lilith stood before a mirror carved from obsidian.
She stared into her own reflection—but what stared back was something older, with eyes that shimmered like silver flame.
“Poor Magnus,” she whispered. “Still trying to chain fate with noble intentions.”
She circled the room and approached the iron coffin again—the one only she could open.
She traced a rune on the lid and whispered words in a forgotten tongue.
The lid cracked.
From inside came a low, guttural breath.
Soon, it would awaken.
Soon, her plan would unfold.
The girl was more than a curse.
She was the key.
---
âť– Magnus- Early Morning
The black car sped down the highway, Magnus gripping the wheel like a man possessed.
Arnold sat beside him, silent.
Neither spoke, but the tension hung thick.
When they reached the dormitory, Magnus didn’t wait for clearance. He pushed through enchanted barriers as if they were paper, tracking her heartbeat from floors away.
He found her in her room.
Curled in bed, shivering.
Ivy was gone, probably at class. The air reeked of stress.
She opened her eyes when she felt him.
“Magnus…”
“Don’t talk,” he said, kneeling beside the bed.
He cupped her face—cool fingers against her fevered skin.
“You came…”
“You’re not okay.”
She gripped his wrist.
“Neither are you.”
He swallowed hard. “I made a mistake.”
“No,” she said, voice trembling. “I needed to see who I was without you.”
“And?”
“I’m still lost. But I know where I want to be.”
He leaned down, his forehead touching hers.
“I’m taking you home.”
---
❖ Magnus’ Apartment – That Night
Evelyn stood in his room, back where everything started.
But this time, she didn’t feel afraid.
He was distant again—like he’d erected a wall the moment she stepped inside.
She confronted him later, her voice soft but firm.
“You’re still trying to protect me.”
“I am.”
“You can’t.”
“I have to.”
“You said you wanted me here.”
“I do.”
“Then stop holding back.”
Magnus turned, pain and hunger flashing behind his icy eyes. “You don’t know what I’ll do if I lose control.”
“Then teach me how to help you.”
He didn’t respond.
But he didn’t run either.
-
âť– midnight vision
That night, Evelyn dreamed of fire.
Of a throne room soaked in blood.
Of Magnus, crowned in black, seated on a throne of bones.
And of herself—standing beside him, hand in his… fangs bared.
Lilith stood in the shadows, watching.
And behind her… the coffin lid opened.
Eyes like ancient suns burned from within.
Then—
Evelyn jolted awake, breath short.
Magnus was by the window, watching the city.
She rose and approached him.
He didn’t look at her.
“You shouldn’t have come back,” he said.
She rested her hand on his back. “But I did.”
His eyes met hers—blue, broken, full of thunder.
And he didn’t push her away this time.
- Writer
