My legs moved before my brain even caught up with the panic surging through me. I was already halfway across the library before I could even process Kadir’s words. The idea that they were coming, that I was already a target, felt like a weight pressing down on my chest. The air in the room had gotten heavier, suffocating, as if the library itself knew I didn’t belong here.

I didn’t even look back to see if Sia was following me. I couldn’t. The only thing I could think about was getting out of there—out of the city, out of this mess. Maybe I could just leave. Just disappear. Get away from all of it.

But how? Where would I even go? It didn’t matter. I didn’t know, and right now, I didn’t care.

I shoved open the library’s massive oak door, the hinges groaning in protest. The cool night air hit me in a rush, and I took a deep breath, willing the reality of the situation to slow down. But it didn’t.

I turned and ran.

I didn’t know where I was going, but instinct kicked in. I darted through the narrow alleyways, pushing past people on the street, barely noticing the looks they gave me. I just needed to keep moving.

The city seemed different now. The silence that had always hung in the background of Catalania was gone. It had been replaced with an unsettling hum, like something was just waiting to snap. The thrum of Flux in the air felt amplified, and I couldn’t shake the sensation that I was being watched.

I wasn’t sure if it was just paranoia or if Kadir’s warning was finally sinking in, but every turn I made seemed to bring me closer to something—someone.

A shadow passed across my path, just ahead of me. I froze, my pulse racing. It was gone too quickly for me to react, but the feeling of being hunted surged through me like a bolt of lightning. I felt it now—the pull of something out there, something close, something that could hear the thrum of my Flux.

I picked up the pace, the click of my shoes against the pavement now loud in the eerie stillness of the streets.

And then I heard it. A soft click, like the scrape of a heel against the stone.

I spun, every muscle in my body tense, ready to run again.

But there, leaning casually against a building, was a figure. A woman. Her pale skin shimmered in the moonlight, and her dark hair fell in loose waves around her shoulders. She was watching me with those unnervingly sharp eyes—eyes that seemed to pierce right through me. The way she stood, poised and relaxed, told me she wasn’t in a hurry. She was enjoying this.

“You’re not from around here, are you?” Her voice was smooth, with just the right amount of coldness to make my blood run a little colder.

I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. Something about her made my throat dry, and a warning bell went off in my head. She wasn’t human. Not by a long shot.

“I could smell you,” she continued, her voice colder now, a deadly edge to it. “The Flux radiating off of you. You’ve been leaking it all over the city. You’re a walking beacon, boy.”

My throat went dry, panic clawing at the back of my mind. She knew what I was. Worse, she knew what I wasn't. I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out. I could barely breathe, let alone think straight. The weight of her gaze was suffocating. The intensity of her presence, the air around us thick with something I couldn’t name, made me feel like prey.

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“You’re not even hiding it,” she said, her lips curling into a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “That’s dangerous. Especially here. Vampires don’t tolerate this kind of… curiosity.”

The word “dangerous” hit me like a punch to the gut. I knew she wasn’t talking about me being a curious college student anymore. She was talking about my life.

A thousand thoughts rushed through my head at once. Why now? Why me? And then there was the crushing reality: I’m screwed.

The woman stepped closer, her eyes never leaving mine. I could see the hunger in them now—distant, cold, but unmistakable. She wasn’t just curious about me. She was looking at me like I was food.

“You don’t even realize it, do you? The vampires around here… they can smell you. They can feel your Flux from miles away.” She took another step forward. “And they’ll be coming for you soon. Don’t worry, I won’t let them have all the fun. You’ll get to meet them soon enough.”

I took a step back, my heart racing. She could smell me. She could feel my Flux. The weight of her words hit me like a freight train. Sia’s warning echoed in my head. Vampires kill awakened Flux users who can’t conceal their aura. That’s what she said, wasn’t it?

And here I was, leaking it all over the city like a neon sign saying, Come get me.

I turned on my heel, instincts screaming at me to run. I didn’t care where—just away. The woman’s laugh stopped me in my tracks, a cold, cruel sound that seemed to slice through the night air.

“Do you really think you can outrun me, little boy?” she taunted, her voice low, almost mocking.

I didn’t wait to find out. My legs moved before my brain could even process the fear surging through me. The narrow alleyways stretched out in front of me, each turn a blur, but I didn’t dare look back. My breath came in ragged gasps as I shoved past people on the street, hardly noticing their confused glances. I was a hurricane of motion, fueled by nothing but pure, unfiltered panic.

But I couldn’t outrun the sensation that something was close, something was watching, and the city felt smaller and smaller with each step I took. I could feel my Flux like a living thing, thrumming through my veins, leaking into the very air around me, and I had no idea how to control it.

I rounded a corner and nearly collided with another figure.

“Where do you think you’re going, kid?”

I skidded to a halt, panic flashing through me. He was tall, shadowed, but I could feel his presence even more than I could see him. His gaze, too, was sharp—predatory.

"Get out of my way!" I yelled, but the words came out weaker than I intended.

The man chuckled, low and dark, the kind of laugh that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. "No can do. You’re not going anywhere, kid. Not yet."

I tried to push past him, adrenaline giving me a fleeting burst of strength, but his hand shot out, catching my arm in a vice grip.

“You smell different,” he said, his voice oddly calm. "Not quite human, not quite vampire. What the hell are you?"

I struggled, trying to break free, but it was like his grip had roots dug into me. I couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. The man leaned in closer, his eyes narrowing as he sniffed the air around me. “Flux… and something else.”

I didn’t know what he was talking about, but the words hit me like a ton of bricks. Not quite human, not quite vampire.

Was he talking about me? My heart pounded harder in my chest. What the hell was I?

I felt my pulse speed up as I began to panic, my whole body shaking. “I—I don’t know what I am. Please, let me go.”

“Don’t play coy with me, kid,” the man growled, his grip tightening, sending a jolt of pain through my arm. “You think we don’t know what’s happening in this city? You think you’re the first to get a little power trip?”

I couldn’t speak, couldn’t do anything. The man was pulling me closer, and I could feel his breath on my face. His scent… was so distinct, so wrong. He wasn’t human. He wasn’t like Kadir. He was something else entirely. His presence felt like a living shadow, predatory and suffocating.

“Please,” I said again, barely above a whisper.

But just as I thought I couldn’t breathe anymore, a flash of movement—like something slicing through the air—flashed past my peripheral vision.

A blur of black, and the man’s grip on me vanished.

“What the hell?”

I barely had time to register what happened before the man flew backward, crashing into a pile of crates with a sickening thud. I spun, my heart racing, just in time to see the shadow of a figure disappear down an alley.

Someone had just saved me.

But who?

I didn’t wait to find out. My body moved on instinct, running as fast as I could, the feeling of danger still crawling up my spine. Whoever or whatever had just intervened wasn’t my savior. Not yet.

And that didn’t matter. I had to get out of there. I had to survive.

Before I ended up dead like every other Flux user who couldn’t control their aura.