blood & eternity part 3

Eva’s heart pounded so hard she was sure Lucian could hear it.

You are not safe… from me.

The words lingered between them, heavy and unshakable.

Lucian stood close now, too close, his presence consuming the air around her. His dark eyes held something unreadable—regret? Warning? Something else entirely? She couldn’t tell.

She should have stepped back. She should have walked away. But instead, she whispered, “What are you?”

Lucian exhaled slowly, and for the first time, she saw something flicker across his face—hesitation, maybe even pain. Then he glanced around, as if suddenly remembering they weren’t alone.

“Not here,” he murmured. “Meet me tonight. The old chapel in the woods. Midnight.”

Eva stiffened. The old chapel? No one went there. It had been abandoned for decades, left to rot under the weight of time and ivy.

“Why would I meet you there?” she asked, her voice barely above a breath.

“Because if I don’t explain everything to you,” Lucian said, “you will end up dead.”

A sharp chill went through her, but before she could press for more, he was already turning away.

She almost reached for him, to grab his arm, to make him stay. But the moment her fingers twitched, he was gone. Not walking. Not running. Just… gone.

Eva stood there in stunned silence, her pulse roaring in her ears.

“Okay, what the hell was that?”

She turned sharply. Caroline stood a few feet away, her arms crossed, watching her with an expression that was half curiosity, half concern.

Eva swallowed. “I… I don’t know.”

Caroline narrowed her eyes. “You don’t know? Eva, that guy looked at you like he knew you. And you looked back like you were about to pass out.”

Eva’s mind raced. If she told Caroline about last night—about how he’d vanished, about his warning, about the way his eyes seemed too dark, too endless—what would she say?

Would she even believe her?

Eva forced a shaky breath. “I met him yesterday.”

Caroline raised a brow. “And?”

“And… he’s weird.”

Caroline snorted. “Yeah, no kidding.” She studied Eva’s face a moment longer, then sighed. “Look, just… be careful, okay? He’s hot, but also intensely creepy.”

Eva nodded, but her mind was already elsewhere.

Because despite every warning bell in her head, she already knew what she was going to do.

She was going to meet Lucian.

Midnight. The Old Chapel.

The wind howled through the trees, rustling the leaves in a song of whispers. The path to the chapel was long forgotten, covered in tangled roots and fallen branches. The moon cast pale light over the ruins, its broken steeple barely visible through the overgrown ivy.

Eva’s breath curled in the cold night air as she stepped forward. Her heart slammed against her ribs, but she didn’t turn back.

She needed answers.

And then, from the shadows—

“You came.”

Eva spun.

Lucian stood at the edge of the ruins, half-shrouded in darkness, his coat billowing slightly in the wind. There was something almost… otherworldly about the way he blended with the night.

“I need to know the truth,” she said, trying to sound steadier than she felt.

Lucian sighed. “I know.”

Then, slowly, he stepped into the moonlight.

And Eva saw it.

His skin, too pale. His movements, too fluid. And his eyes—now glinting with an unnatural light.

Lucian Sinclair was not human.

She took a step back. “What are you?”

He hesitated. Then, finally—

“I am a vampire.”

Silence stretched between them. The wind howled. The trees groaned.

Eva should have laughed. She should have called him a liar and walked away. But deep down, she already knew the truth.

She had felt it.

Lucian studied her carefully. “You don’t seem surprised.”

Eva swallowed. “Because I think I already knew.”

Lucian’s lips twitched in something that wasn’t quite a smile. “Then you understand why I warned you. If you stay near me, Eva, you will not be safe.”

Her chest tightened. “Then why tell me the truth? Why warn me at all?”

For the first time, Lucian’s expression softened—just slightly.

“Because,” he said, voice barely above a whisper, “this isn’t the first time we’ve met.”

Eva’s breath hitched.

“What do you mean?”

Lucian took another step forward, his eyes burning into hers.

“I knew you, Eva. A long time ago. In another life.”

The world tilted. The wind stilled.

“What?” she breathed.

Lucian exhaled slowly. “You don’t remember yet. But you will.”

And then, so softly it was almost lost to the night—

“You were mine once.”