"You," I whisper, not sure if I am going insane.
Adrian.
Adrian from the gala. From the night I've tried so hard to forget.
The stranger I fucked and fled from.
He's here. He just killed a man in front of me.
"Seraphina," he says, and his voice is exactly as I remember it. Deep. Controlled. The kind of voice that makes you want to obey.
I'm covered in blood. A dead man is lying between us. And Adrian is looking at me like he remembers exactly what I taste like.
"What are you doing here?" The words come out strangled. Wrong. "How did you find me?" I'm shaking as he comes towards me.
I'm a mixture of grateful and terrified, and I'm not sure which one will win out.
"I've been looking for you."
"Why?"
"Because you disappeared." His voice is cold. Controlled. "Because I wanted to find you again."
"You've been watching me?" Horror mixes with confusion.
"We can discuss that later. Right now—" His eyes scan me, assessing. "Are you hurt?"
"You killed him." I can't stop staring at the body. I'm covered in this man's blood.
"Yes."
"You just—you killed him."
"Yes."
"You killed him." I'm repeating myself, and I can't seem to stop. My brain isn't working properly.
"Are you injured?" His hands are on my face now, tilting my head to check. "Where did he hit you?"
I try to stand, and I immediately feel vertigo overtake me.
My stomach revolts.
I barely turn in time before I'm throwing up right there in the alley, next to a dead body.
Could this get any worse? Probably.
Adrian's hand gathers my hair, holds it back. His touch is gentle despite the violence I just witnessed.
"Breathe," he says quietly.
I heave until there's nothing left, wiping my mouth with shaking hands, smearing blood across my cheek. When I stop, Adrian lets go of my hair and straightens me.
"We need to go," Adrian says, looking around. "We are too exposed."
I pull away, shaking my head. "I'm not going anywhere with you."
"Seraphina—"
