The moment Prince Asch's hand closed around Avery's arm, the night shifted again.Not subtly this time, not quietly. It cracked.
Avery's breath caught as she steadied herself, her balance restored by a grip that was far too strong to be human, fingers cool against her skin, unmoving, unyielding. For a second, she didn't pull away, didn't react because her body hadn't caught up with her mind yet. Then she looked up and everything in her dropped.
"Well," Asch drawled, his lips curling into something dangerously amused, his fangs just barely visible as he spoke, "aren't you a pretty little disaster?"
Avery yanked her arm back immediately, her pulse spiking. "I'm fine," she said quickly, too quickly, her voice tighter than she wanted.
Asch tilted his head, studying her like she was something entertaining, something breakable. "I didn't ask, human"
There was something deeply wrong with him. Not just vampire wrong, everyone here was used to that.This was something sharper. Crueler. Like he enjoyed discomfort the way other people enjoyed wine.
"I said I'm fine," Avery repeated, more controlled now.
Asch hummed, unconvinced, his gaze dragging over her in a way that made her skin crawl. "Well human, you don't look fine," he murmured. "You look like you're about to make a very bad decision."
"That's none of your business."
"Everything in this room is my business," he said lightly.
"That's a fucking stretch."
That made him smile wider.
"Oh, I like you," he said. "You've got teeth."
Avery almost scoffed.
"Not like you," she muttered.
Something flickered in his eyes. It was a hint of mischief and sudden interest. But before he could respond, he was caught off.
"Avery."
Her name cut through the moment like a blade.
It was Corbin.
Avery stiffened.
Asch didn't move.
Of course he didn't.
Slowly, deliberately, Asch turned his head toward him, his expression shifting into something almost pleasant, almost polite.
"Corbin, brother..." he greeted, smooth as silk. "I was just helping your servant."
The word, "servant" felt like a slap to Avery.
Corbin's gaze flicked briefly to her, sharp, assessing, then back to Asch. His expression didn't change but something behind it tightened, something dangerous slipping through the cracks of his control.
"She doesn't need your help," Corbin said evenly.
Asch raised a brow. "No?"
"No."
Silence stretched between them.
Avery stood there, caught in the middle of something she very much did not want to be part of, her heart pounding in her chest.
"…You're awfully invested," Asch noted, his tone turning curious, amused. "For someone who doesn't care."
"I don't," Corbin replied flatly.
"Bullshit."
The word slipped out sharp and quiet, laced with just enough bite to make Avery's stomach twist.
Corbin's jaw tightened.
Asch's smile sharpened.
"Oh, that's new," he said softly. "You don't usually lose your composure in public."
"I'm not."
"You are," Asch said, taking a slow step closer, his voice dropping just enough to make it intimate, dangerous. "And it's because of her."
Avery sucked in a breath. "Stop talking about me like I'm not right here—"
"Then say something worth listening to," Asch cut in lazily.
"Fuck you."
That slipped out before she could stop it.There was a beat of silence. She could feel Sloane's smirk, enjoying that she messed up again.
Asch laughed, it wasn't polite or quiet, instead it was real.
"Well," he said, clearly entertained now, "this just got interesting."
Corbin stepped forward just enough to shift the balance. "Leave," he said, his voice low, controlled, but carrying something darker underneath.
Asch's gaze flicked to him again, slow, deliberate. "Or what?"
Corbin didn't answer immediately because he couldn't not here, not like this, not in front of everyone watching, even if they were pretending not to. Asch saw it, he smiled. "That's what I thought," he murmured before stepping back. "For now," he added lightly, his gaze lingering on Avery just a second longer. "Try not to fall again, sweetheart. I won't always be there to catch you." Then he turned and walked away like nothing had happened.
Avery exhaled shakily, her hands tightening at her sides. "…I hate him," she muttered.Corbin didn't respond. She looked at him.Big mistake. Because he wasn't looking at her like before.
Not soft.
Not conflicted.
Sharp.
Controlled.
And pissed.
"What the hell was that?" he asked.
Avery blinked. "What?"
"With him."
"I tripped," she snapped. "That's what happened."
"That's not what I asked."
"Then maybe ask a better fucking question."
That hit.
Corbin's eyes narrowed slightly.
"You're getting bold," he said.
"You're getting annoying."
"Careful."
"Or what?" she shot back. "You'll remind me of my place?"
Corbin's gaze didn't leave hers.
"…You're not acting like someone who understands it," he said quietly.
Avery let out a sharp, humorless laugh. "Oh, I understand it just fine. I live it every day."
"Then stop putting yourself in situations you can't handle."
Something in her snapped.
"I wasn't the one who grabbed me," she said, her voice dropping, anger slipping through now, raw and unfiltered. "And I sure as hell didn't ask for you to step in like I'm some helpless fucking idiot."
"That's not what I—"
"Then what?" she cut in. "Because from where I'm standing, it looks like you're more concerned about who touched me than whether I'm actually okay."
That landed hard that it made corbin went still. And for a second, she saw the truth and it made her more pissed."Wow". She was shaking her head slightly. "That's actually pathetic."
His jaw tightened. "Watch your mouth."
"No," she said. "You don't get to talk to me like that and then act like I'm the problem."
"I'm not acting like—"
"You are," she snapped. "You always do. Everything has to be controlled, calculated, perfect—and the second something isn't, you get all—" she gestured vaguely, frustrated, "—this."
He didn't speak, he just watched.
"…You think I don't see it?" she added, quieter now, but sharper. "You think I don't notice the way you look at me like I'm something you shouldn't want?"
That was the line, the one she shouldn't have crossed and the air went still between them.
"…Careful, Avery," he said softly, it sounded like a restraint.
Avery turned slightly, her chest still tight, her pulse still racing.
Kaia stood a few steps away, her expression already tense, her gaze flicking between them, taking in the distance—or lack of it—the tension, the way neither of them had moved.
"…What the hell is going on?" Kaia asked.
Avery let out a breath, stepping back just enough to break whatever that was. "Nothing."
"Bullshit."
"Kaia—"
"No," she said, sharper now. "You've been avoiding me for two days, and now I find you in the middle of whatever the hell this is?"
"I said it's nothing."
"It doesn't look like nothing."
Corbin stepped back then, just slightly, his expression already shifting back into something composed, something controlled.
"Everything is under control," he said smoothly.
Kaia let out a short laugh. "Yeah, I can fucking see that."
Avery rubbed her temples briefly. "Can we not do this right now?"
"Then when?" Kaia shot back. "Because I'm getting real tired of you acting like I don't exist."
"That's not—"
"It is," Kaia cut in. "And you know it."
Avery's jaw tightened.
"…I didn't ask you to care," she said quietly.
"Wow," she said softly. "Okay. That's how we're doing this now?"
"That's not what I meant."
"Yeah?" Kaia snapped. "Because it sure as hell sounded like it."
"Avery."
Ajax.
His voice cut in calm, steady but there was tension underneath it now, something sharper as he stepped closer, his gaze flicking briefly to Corbin before settling on his sister.
"What's going on?" he asked.
Avery let out a breath. "Nothing."
"Bullshit," Kaia muttered again.
Ajax's eyes narrowed slightly. "You've said that three times now. I'm starting to think it's not true."
Avery swallowed slowly, her chest tight, her thoughts a mess of anger, tension, and something far more dangerous she didn't want to name. Everyone was watching, whispering, smiling. She saw Sloane with a grin, whispering to a group of giggling, rich young ladies. She couldn't take it, she saw Marcelline, moving through the crowd, coming towards her. Her heart was beating fast, she couldn't hear anything but her own breathing, her heartbeat and the whispers. She ran off.
"Avery!" she heard Marcelline breaking into a run.
Avery ran, she ran through the doors of the ballroom and ran through the halls. The cold air of the garden hit her face as she was running deeper, the garden area was large and was like a maze with large exotic planets. She reached a fountain in the heart of the garden, she sat there and wept, she felt the heavy burden of working as a maid, the gossip she has to deal with, bonds to heal. She reached into her pocket, she held a golden locket and hugged it to her chest.
Suddenly, a feather landed a few feet away from her feet. It was black and soft. Her eyes widen and she gasped. She looked up, in the trees surrounding her, were the crows. Alot of them, watching with their eyes, including the one with the amber eyes. They all caw-cawed and flapped their wings like a warning. "Oh shut up, I know I know, you're always watching you stupid birds!" she said, standing up. They kept cawing at her and flapping their wings. It was strange, she looked around, she was alone. "What is it that you all want now! Mocking me because I cried?".
Something blurry ran past in the corner of her eyes, her gaze snapped towards a bush, it was dark but the moonlight's rays shined throughout the garden. A bloody trail. Fresh. Wet. Dragged across the ground in a broken trail that disappeared into the darkness of the bush.
Red eyes of a beast looked at her.They stared at her from within the shadows, unblinking, unmoving, something massive just beyond the light, something that did not breathe, did not shift, did not retreat.
She was wrong. She wasn't alone.