EPISODE FOUR: The Watcher in the Rain
752 Words
The next morning, Aurelia couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being watched.
It started when she left her apartment building. She felt eyes on her before she even reached the street. Her neck prickled. Her instincts screamed.
She stopped. Glanced behind her.
Nothing.
But the feeling didn’t fade.
She walked faster, gripping her bag tighter, scanning every passing face. A man in a dark coat lingered by a lamppost—too still. A woman in a tan raincoat crossed the street only when she did. Her heart beat faster. Her breath shortened.
Get a grip, Thorne. You’re sleep-deprived, half convinced you’re the reincarnated queen of a dragon realm, and now you think you're in a spy movie?
Still, she didn’t let her guard down.
---
By the time she reached Drakon Industries, her nerves were shot. The glass building loomed ahead, tall and elegant—more fortress than office. Security scanned her in without a word.
When the elevator doors opened, Lucian was already waiting.
He stood with hands in his pockets, dark suit immaculate, expression unreadable. Behind him, a silver tray rested on a glass table with two steaming cups of coffee.
“Rough morning?” he asked.
She hesitated. “Do I look that bad?”
His gaze swept over her—not mocking, but deliberate. Heat rose in her cheeks.
“You look... aware,” he said simply. “Good.”
She stared. “That’s a weird compliment.”
“It’s not a compliment. It’s a survival skill.”
Aurelia raised a brow. “Any reason I felt like someone was following me today?”
Lucian’s jaw tightened a fraction.
“Tell me everything.”
That shift—calm to dangerous in one breath—sent a chill down her spine. So she told him. The man in the coat. The woman who crossed when she did. The pressure behind her eyes that felt like something not human was near.
Lucian didn’t interrupt.
When she finished, he nodded slowly. “They’re testing boundaries.”
“Who is ‘they’?”
He didn’t answer.
“Lucian.”
His name felt strange on her tongue. He looked at her, and in that moment she saw the fire behind the calm. Not metaphorical. Real.
“There are factions that don’t want you to awaken,” he said. “Ones that would rather erase you than risk what you might remember.”
Her mouth went dry. “You’re saying I’m in danger?”
“I’m saying you’re a spark in a room full of gunpowder. And now that you’re glowing…” His eyes burned gold. “They’ll come with fire of their own.”
---
That night…
Aurelia walked into her apartment and froze.
Her door was unlocked.
She knew she locked it. She always did. Her stomach turned.
She pushed the door open slowly, heart hammering. Inside, everything looked untouched. But something felt off. Like the air had been disturbed.
She reached for her phone—and stopped.
Her sketchbook was open on the counter.
She hadn’t left it there.
She hadn’t left it open.
She flipped it shut, heart in her throat.
Just then, her phone buzzed. Unknown number.
> Are you alone?
Her blood ran cold.
> Who is this? she typed back.
Three dots appeared.
> Get out of there. Now.
---
The lights went out.
A low crack split the silence, like someone stepping on glass.
Aurelia didn’t think. She grabbed her phone, bolted for the fire escape, and climbed down three flights in the rain without stopping.
Her hands were shaking. Her breath ragged.
At the corner of the alley, a sleek black car screeched to a stop.
The door flew open.
Lucian.
“Get in,” he ordered.
She didn’t argue.
---
Inside the car, silence pulsed between them as the city blurred by outside. Rain streaked the windows. Her hands still trembled.
“You were right,” she whispered.
Lucian’s jaw flexed. “I know.”
“Who broke into my place?”
“A warning,” he said darkly. “They won’t be so subtle next time.”
Her voice cracked. “Why me?”
His eyes met hers. “Because you’re not meant to be mortal.”
The car turned sharply and slowed in front of a private elevator hidden behind a gated lot.
“Where are we going?”
“To the only place you’ll be safe tonight.”
The elevator opened. Aurelia stared at the penthouse beyond.
His home.
---
- Writer
