CH-5

Aria’s POV

And then he was gone.

Leaving me aching, furious, and utterly confused.

I stood frozen in place, my pulse still thundering in my ears.

And that was when I realized something truly, undeniably dangerous.

I had no idea who I wanted to stay away from more.

Sebastian or Lorien.

Because either way, I was already falling.

=============================

"Tonight, humans are not students. They are prey."

The headmistress’s words echoed in my mind, chilling and absolute, as I stepped through the towering doors of Blackthorn Academy’s grand ballroom.

Above me, a collection of ornate crystal chandeliers cast a golden glow, their flickering light reflecting off walls of dark stone and velvet drapery. The air was thick with the scent of candle wax, aged wine, and something richer—something metallic beneath the perfume and spice.

Everywhere I looked, masked figures moved with a grace that was too perfect, too inhuman. The haunting melody of a violin wove through the air, slow and hypnotic, making the room feel almost unreal—like a dream, or perhaps a nightmare.

The Masquerade Ball wasn’t just a dance.

It was a feeding ground.

And I had just walked straight into it.

-----------------------

It took me mere seconds to notice the color-coded necklaces wrapped around every human’s throat.

Gold for off-limits. A shield of protection. A warning.

Red for offering. An invitation. A surrender.

A mark of prey.

Panic clawed its way up my throat as I instinctively reached for my own—only to find nothing.

My necklace was missing.

A slow, creeping dread unfurled in my chest.

Without a mark, I was completely exposed.

Before I could move, a hand brushed my bare shoulder.

A smooth, deep voice followed.

"Looks like someone forgot to mark you, little lamb."

I turned sharply—right into Sebastian’s smirking face.

Draped in a raven-black suit that shimmered with threads of gold, he looked every bit the prince of shadows he was rumored to be. His mask—dark and intricately designed—only accentuated the sharp cut of his features, the sly curve of his lips.

But it was his eyes that unsettled me most.

A deep, molten gold, glowing faintly beneath the ballroom lights.

"You should be careful," he murmured, stepping closer, his breath warm against the shell of my ear. "Someone might get the wrong idea."

A chill slithered down my spine.

"Give it back," I said, my voice steadier than I felt.

Sebastian sighed, almost playfully, before lifting something from his pocket.

My necklace.

But the gold had vanished.

In its place was red.

The sight of it made my stomach drop.

"This suits you better," he said, his voice smooth as silk as he reached forward and fastened it around my throat.

I jerked back, but it was too late. The clasp clicked shut. The weight of it burned against my skin like a brand.

"Sebastian," I gritted out, pulse hammering.

His fingers lingered at my pulse point, a ghost of a touch, deliberate and knowing.

"I’d be more worried about your prince charming," he murmured, tilting his head toward the shadows. "He doesn’t look very pleased."

I didn’t have to turn to know who he meant.

I could feel him.

Lorien.

Cold. Unyielding. Lethal.

---------------------

Before I could fully grasp what had just happened, Sebastian’s fingers curled around my wrist.

"Shall we?"

I barely had time to react before he was leading me toward the dance floor.

The moment we stepped onto the polished marble, his arm slid around my waist, pulling me against him.

I gasped softly, my hands pressing against the firm wall of his chest.

"Relax," he murmured, voice like velvet. "This is just a dance."

But we both knew it wasn’t.

Not with the way his fingers trailed lightly along my spine, slow and teasing. Not with the way he guided me effortlessly, each step pressing our bodies closer, heat radiating from him in waves.

Not with the way his lips barely ghosted over my ear as he leaned in, his voice a quiet, dark promise.

"Tell me, sweetheart," he murmured. "Have you ever been bitten?"

A sharp breath lodged in my throat.

Sebastian’s smirk widened.

"Would you like to be?"

A strange warmth coiled low in my stomach, and I hated the way my body betrayed me with a sharp pulse of heat.

His hand slid lower, resting against the curve of my hip.

It would be so easy to just… let go.

To let him pull me under. To surrender to whatever dark pleasure came with it.

But before I could answer—

Another hand ripped me away from him.

-----------------------

The moment Lorien touched me, the entire room froze.

One second, I was wrapped in Sebastian’s arms.

The next—I was against Lorien’s chest, his grip unyielding.

"That’s enough," he said, his voice a dangerous whisper.

It wasn’t loud.

But it didn’t have to be.

Sebastian chuckled, golden eyes flickering with amusement. "Jealous, Duskbane?"

Lorien didn’t spare him a glance.

His storm-gray eyes locked onto mine, and just like that, I couldn’t breathe.

"You shouldn’t be here," he murmured, voice quieter now, as if he were speaking more to himself than to me. "You don’t belong in this world."

But his fingers told a different story.

They tightened at my waist, firm and possessive.

Like he didn’t want to let go.

Like he was fighting something darker than jealousy.

I swallowed hard, my heart hammering against my ribs. "Then let me go."

His jaw tensed.

For a moment, I thought he might.

Then—his hand slid up my back, fingers threading into the base of my hair, gripping the back of my neck with slow, deliberate intent.

His touch burned.

"You don’t understand," he whispered.

Then, lower—almost like a confession.

"I don’t want to let you go."

----------------------

A sharp cry split through the room, shattering the moment.

I turned—and immediately wished I hadn’t.

A girl had been dragged onto the marble floor, her body arched in an unnatural way as a vampire fed from her neck.

The sight should have horrified me.

Should have sent me running.

Instead, it unraveled something inside me.

The way the vampire’s fangs sank into her skin.

The way her lips parted, her breath hitching in a mixture of pain and pleasure.

The way her body trembled, shaking from something far more intoxicating than fear.

My own body swayed, a strange heat licking at my skin.

A sharp inhale behind me.

I turned—straight into Lorien’s burning gaze.

His silver eyes were no longer cold.

They were blazing. Hungry.

Like he had felt it too.

The music swelled, drowning out the sound of my pulse hammering in my ears.

Lorien took a single step closer.

His hands curled into fists.

Then, so quietly I almost missed it—

"Get out of here, Aria. Before I stop resisting."