Blood & Eternity Part 2: A Name Written in Blood

The next morning, Eva awoke with the weight of last night’s encounter pressing against her mind. It had been a dream. It had to be. The stranger in the long coat, the way he vanished into thin air—it wasn’t possible.

And yet, she couldn’t shake the feeling that it had been real.

The autumn sunlight filtered through her curtains, casting golden streaks across her room. Everything looked normal. The worn wooden floor, the books stacked haphazardly on her desk, the old armchair by the window where she liked to curl up with a novel—it was all exactly as it had been the night before.

But she was different.

A slow unease crept over her as she got ready for the day. Even as she brushed her long dark hair and slipped into a cozy sweater, she felt… watched. The stranger’s words echoed in her mind.

"Not all monsters hide in the dark."

She needed to stop obsessing over this. It was probably some drifter or a lost traveler. Maybe he had read her name off a package she was carrying or something. There had to be an explanation.

By the time she arrived at the bookshop, the normalcy of the day helped push her thoughts of him aside. The shop smelled of old pages and vanilla candles, and a few customers milled about, flipping through novels.

Her best friend, Caroline, was already at the counter, her blonde curls bouncing as she waved. “Finally! I was about to send a search party for you.”

Eva smiled faintly. “I overslept.”

Caroline raised an eyebrow. “You overslept? That’s new.” She studied Eva, her smile fading slightly. “Are you okay? You look… distracted.”

Eva hesitated, debating whether to tell her. Caroline had grown up in Blackthorn too, and unlike Eva, she did believe in the town’s ghost stories. If Eva told her she had met a mysterious stranger who vanished into thin air, Caroline would probably think it was some kind of omen.

“I just had a weird night,” Eva said finally.

Caroline leaned in, her curiosity piqued. “Weird how?”

Eva opened her mouth to respond when the door chime rang.

And she froze.

He was standing in the doorway.

The stranger from last night.

He looked the same—tall, draped in his long black coat, his dark eyes scanning the shop with quiet intensity. In the daylight, his skin looked even paler, almost luminous against the shadows that seemed to follow him.

Eva’s breath caught as his gaze found hers. For a moment, neither of them moved. The world around them faded.

Then, he stepped forward.

Caroline let out a small, appreciative whistle. “Holy hell,” she muttered under her breath. “Who is that?”

Eva swallowed hard, her pulse hammering. She had so many questions, but only one managed to slip from her lips.

“…What are you doing here?”

He stopped a few feet away, his expression unreadable. “I wanted to see you again.”

Caroline glanced between them, her eyes widening. “Wait, you know him?”

Before Eva could answer, the stranger turned his gaze to Caroline. “Would you mind giving us a moment?”

Caroline blinked, then shot Eva a look that practically screamed explain later before stepping away.

Now it was just the two of them.

Eva crossed her arms, trying to steady herself. “Who are you?”

A pause. Then, finally, he answered.

“My name is Lucian.”

Lucian. The name felt ancient, like it had been whispered through time.

Eva exhaled sharply. “How do you know my name?”

His gaze softened. “Because I’ve known you before, Eva.”

Her breath caught.

“What—”

Before she could finish, Lucian took another step forward, closing the distance between them. “There’s something you need to understand,” he said, his voice lower now, as if he didn’t want anyone else to hear. “You are not safe.”

A chill ran through her. “Safe from what?”

He hesitated.

Then, so softly she almost didn’t hear it, he said—

“From me.”

To be continued...

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