48. The Escape

The air thickens with tension as we run. The sound of our footsteps echoes in the emptiness of the night, chasing us like the rhythm of some invisible threat drawing near. Shadow doesn’t stop—and I have no intention of slowing down. There’s no time to think. No room for doubt. All I want is to stay by his side, no matter what dangers lie ahead.

The shadows seem to stretch with every passing second, as if the world itself is closing in on us. The darkness isn’t just the cloak that covers the city—it’s a living thing. A predator breathing down our necks, nearly upon us. But we haven’t yet reached safety, and my legs are starting to tremble. Fatigue claws at me.

“Shadow,” I whisper, though my voice falters, barely more than breath. I feel his hand on my back, urging me forward, willing me not to give in. But I stop for a heartbeat, turning toward him. “Where are we going? There’s nowhere left to run. We’re trapped.”

His expression hardens, but I catch a flicker of desperation in his eyes—just enough to unravel me. He halts briefly, looking at me like he’s searching for something in my face, something he hopes I’ll recognize. And I do. I see it all: the exhaustion, the fear, the dread of what’s still to come.

“They found us,” he says, his voice deep, every syllable heavy with meaning. “We can’t hide anymore. There’s no turning back now.”

My heart hammers in my chest. I already knew this. From the moment I chose to be with him, we both knew this day would come. But why do I feel so exposed? So stripped of the strength I thought I had?

“Then… what do we do now?” I ask, trying to sound calm, though every part of me is unraveling. Adrenaline floods my veins, my body on high alert—but my thoughts are chaos.

Before Shadow can answer, a crack sounds nearby—followed by a low, guttural laugh. My entire body goes rigid. The blood in my veins turns to ice.

“You’re too late,” says a man’s voice. One I recognize instantly. I know that voice, though I dare not look.

But when I do, he’s there: tall, smiling with a cruelty that thickens the darkness around him. His eyes gleam with familiar malice—an expression that’s always frozen the breath in my lungs. He looks almost human… but there’s something deeply monstrous behind his gaze. Someone like him doesn’t just let you walk away.

“Bastard!” Shadow snarls, his voice thick with fury. I see his fingers shift, sharpen into claws. The change is coming fast. There’s something in the intensity of his stare that makes me tremble—but it pulls me in, too. I can’t look away from the storm about to break.

The man’s smile widens, drinking in our fear like wine. The danger in the air is suffocating, and inside my chest burns a tangled mess of panic and desire. It’s madness—I know—but I want him. I want Shadow.

“What do you want from us?” I demand, my voice steadier than I feel. I’m terrified, but I won’t let him see it. I can’t.

The man chuckles, a sound laced with venom. He steps closer, eyes locked on Shadow’s with dark amusement.

“What I want,” he says, voice sharp and mocking, “is for you to understand that your life means nothing now. There’s no way back.”

My skin prickles. Fear swallows me whole. But in Shadow’s eyes burns a rage that assures me—he won’t let him win. Not today.

“You’ll regret coming here,” Shadow growls, his entire body trembling, barely containing the wild power coiled within him. The transformation is nearly complete. And I can’t look away. I watch in awe and terror as his true self rises to the surface—so fierce, so terrible, so… his.

The man doesn’t flinch. If anything, his confidence deepens. That smile... it tilts with something dark and poisonous, as if he knows how this will end.

“We’re not the only ones you should fear,” he says, his words dripping like acid. “There are more. And soon, you’ll see—your loyalty to him is the worst mistake you’ve ever made.”

Before I can react, he moves—blurring into motion in the blink of an eye. My instincts lag behind, but Shadow’s don’t. In an instant, he’s there, colliding with the man in a brutal clash that shakes the air around us. The force of their battle nearly drags me off my feet.

I stumble back, frantically searching for an escape—a way to tip the odds. But all I can do is watch, helpless, as Shadow fights with a fury I’ve never witnessed before. Every movement is lethal. Every strike fueled by more than rage—by something deeper: the need to protect me. The need to keep us from being torn apart.

The man fights with twisted delight, like he’s been waiting for this. We can’t beat him easily—I know that. But what terrifies me most isn’t the fight itself. It’s what happens after. The certainty that even if we win... nothing will ever be the same.

Finally, Shadow knocks the man to the ground. But he doesn’t stay down. He rises slowly, blood dripping from his lips, staining his smile with hatred.

“This isn’t over,” he hisses, before vanishing into the shadows like a ghost.

Shadow stands, breathing hard, his body trembling from exhaustion. But his eyes never leave mine. I know what he’s thinking—because I’m thinking it too. What just happened was only the beginning. Nothing will be easy now.

“Eve,” he says, his voice hoarse, as though he’s fought a demon and barely survived. “They want to tear us apart. But we’re not going to let them.”

His words are a challenge—a poisoned promise. And for the first time, hearing them, I feel closer to him than ever. Because I know now, with terrifying clarity: no matter what happens, there is no going back.