Vin was still reeling with pride for Raleigh as their little group left the underground gambling den. He stole a quick look at Callie and frowned at her expression. She looked terrified. But wasn’t that the reason Vin brought her here? To scare her, and let her know about the atrocities he was involved in? Vin was not a good man, and Callie needed to learn that sooner rather than later. They were almost out of the main entrance when someone bumped into Vin, the ash from his lit cigarette leaving a nasty mark against the crime lord’s shirt. “So, s-sorry, boss man.” The man was clearly drunk, with the way his words strung together. He was laughing too, something that one shouldn’t be doing in the presence of the Dragon, especially not after you’ve soiled his clothing. Before anyone could blink, Vin had the man’s jaw in his tight grip and had pried one of the man’s eyes open. “Bloodshot eyes, dilated pupils… a little watery too,” said Vin in a hushed voice, and each time he listed of

Vin didn’t return to her room after that incident. In fact, she didn’t catch a glimpse of Vin the following day, save for when he caught her sipping tea in the kitchen in the middle of the night after she woke up from another nightmare. She flushed pink at the thought of Vin hearing her cry again. Guilt and embarrassment settled badly in her stomach. Callie had made a habit of singing herself to sleep after her bouts with her repeating nightmares. Every night she cries and sings, cries and sings. Tonight, she cried about her broken dreams. Callie had abandoned her phone and laptop, the devices lay dead somewhere inside her backpack. Why bother? She couldn’t go to school anyway. She wouldn’t be able to graduate. Unless… “Silver lining, Callie,” she muttered to herself as she marched into the kitchen. “Find your silver lining.” “Would you care for some breakfast?” Now, those were words Vin hadn’t heard in a long time. He had been living alone for fifteen years, and he usually grabb

Walking into the gates of the university felt like a breath of fresh air to Callie. Despite how she loved the theater and attending her classes, the university didn’t share that love. Or simply put, the other students didn’t take kindly to having a prostitute for a classmate. The sneers and judgmental looks used to bother Callie, but she has learned to ignore them and focus on her education. Now, it only fueled her desire to graduate and leave this city forever. The day passed quickly and normally enough. Apart from the truckload of schoolwork she missed, it was uneventful. Additionally, Callie intentionally avoided talking to Sienna until the last moment. Outside the university theater, where audition announcements have been posted for the year-end musical were posted, Callie waited for her friend, staring blankly at the page. “Callie! Holy shit, where have you been?” Callie would recognize that voice from anywhere. Sienna tackled the singer into a fierce hug. “I’ve been worried s

“How’d the meeting go?” The rain hasn’t let up since Vin left home, and the constant pitter-patter was starting to irritate him. He fixed Soren with a bored stare. “Do you even have to ask?” the crime lord replied. “Any news for me?” Soren smirked as he opened the car door for Vin, droplets of rain wetting his shoulder as he protected his master from the rain. “I have a package waiting for you at the warehouse,” said Soren as he settled into the driver’s seat. “Finally.” When the duo arrived at the said warehouse, Z was already there, picking at his nails waiting for them. “Took you guys long enough,” Z muttered as he slid the door open to let the two in. “It was freezing.” Vin ignored the complaint, while Soren snickered at Z’s expense. The warehouse as they call it was an old storage facility for their weapons. Towers of empty wooden crates lined each of the four walls. Vin didn’t want to dump them for they made excellent soundproofing, perfect for activities like this. “Loo

Callie watched with mixed horror and fascination as her bullies’ faces blanched at the sight of Vincent Baros before them. Her breath caught in her throat at the notion of him exposing himself, but it didn’t matter who they thought he was. Vin walked and talked with certainty, and there was something in this aura that made him so terrifying. Whatever it was he told them, it must have been awful. Vin walked back to the car with the same swagger, smirking as if he were proud of what he’d done. “What did you do? What did you say to them?” Callie asked when Vin returned, craning her neck over the dashboard to see her classmates run back into the building. “I don’t want to talk about it either,” Vin repeated Callie’s words back to her with a small amused smile before putting the car into gear. The car eased out of the campus and into the near-empty highway. It was still a few hours before nightfall, but as they entered the Ashen City, some people have already set up candles and lanterns