Valeria POV
Marco was waiting by my office, his expression carefully blank, though I could see the strain around his eyes. He stepped forward as we approached, his gaze flickering between Adrian and me, a barely hidden resentment flashing in his eyes.
"Valeria," he greeted, his tone as smooth as ever, though it held an edge I couldn't ignore. "There's something we need to discuss. Urgently."
I raised an eyebrow, my expression unreadable. "Does it have to do with Talon's plans to undermine me? Because if so, you can save your breath. I'm already aware."
Marco's mask slipped just a fraction, a flicker of frustration flashing across his face before he regained control. "It's... more complicated than that."
Adrian's hand tightened slightly around mine, his stance firm beside me. "Then speak, Marco. No need for dramatics."
Marco's gaze shifted to Adrian, a flash of contempt barely concealed in his dark eyes. "This is a matter for Valeria. Not for an outsider."
A sharp silence followed his words, the weight of his challenge hanging heavily in the air. I met his gaze, my voice cold and unyielding. "Adrian is not an outsider. He is as much a part of this as you are, Marco. And if you can't handle that, then perhaps it's time to reconsider your position."
The words struck him like a slap, his expression hardening as he absorbed the blow. But instead of backing down, he leaned in, his voice low and filled with a dangerous edge. "Valeria, I've always been loyal to you. I've been here since the beginning, building this empire at your side. Don't think for a moment that I'll let him replace me."
Adrian took a step forward, his presence radiating a quiet menace. "I'm not here to replace anyone, Marco. But make no mistake-I won't tolerate threats against her."
Marco's face twisted into a sneer, his control slipping as his jealousy flared. "And what are you going to do about it, Blake? You think just because you're marked, you have any real power here?"
I cut in, my voice a blade slicing through the tension. "Enough. Both of you." I turned my gaze to Marco, letting my own power flare, a silent warning that I would not tolerate insubordination. "Marco, your loyalty is not a question. But understand this-Adrian is here because I chose him. If you can't accept that, then you're free to leave. Now."
For a moment, he simply stared at me, a mixture of anger and something darker flickering in his eyes. Then, slowly, he nodded, his expression hardening. "Very well. But don't say I didn't warn you when he turns out to be nothing more than a liability."
With that, he turned and strode away, leaving a tense silence in his wake.
Adrian exhaled slowly, his gaze following Marco's retreating form. "He's going to be a problem, Valeria."
I glanced at him, a faint smile playing on my lips. "Let him be. If he makes a move, I'll handle him. For now, he knows his place."
Adrian looked at me, a shadow of worry in his eyes. "Just promise me you'll be careful. I know you're powerful, but Marco... he's not going to let this go easily."
I squeezed his hand, my own resolve hardening. "I don't need to be careful, Adrian. This is my world. And anyone who challenges me will find out exactly why I built it."
Later that evening...
The weight of the summons hit me the moment I and Adrian stepped out of the elevator and into the lobby of my penthouse. The air around me shifted, the familiar hum of power crackling in the atmosphere, like a distant storm rolling in. My eyes narrowed, the blood beneath my skin thrumming with the call-sharp, urgent, and unmistakable.
I wasn't alone in the room. I never was when they came calling.
The darkness folded around me as I appeared in the vast, timeless hall of the Elders. I hadn't come here by choice. One moment, I was in my penthouse, the distant hum of the city anchoring me to the human world, and the next, I felt a force drag me through the very fabric of space itself.
It wasn't the first time I'd encountered such power, but it was the first time someone dared to wield it against me. I steadied myself, violet eyes blazing as they took in the hall before me. Shadows danced along the walls, ancient glyphs etched in stones older than civilization itself glowing with a dim, ominous light. The air was thick with magic, old and unforgiving, coiling like smoke around my limbs.
"Valeria."
The voice came from everywhere and nowhere, a low, resonant murmur that reverberated in the very bones of the place. The sound echoed, carrying a weight that only one being could possess: Eranus, the eldest of the Elders. He appeared from the shadows, his face a blend of timeless wisdom and unyielding severity. His form was more shadow than flesh, yet his presence was solid, undeniable.
The other Elders emerged from the darkness, silent and watchful. Each carried an air of judgment, of power beyond mortal understanding. They were the arbiters of our world, and their silence held a chilling weight.
"I don't recall agreeing to this little summons," I said, folding my arms and letting my gaze rest on each of them, unflinching. I was not here to bow or cower. I was Valeria, after all, and I would not be treated like some lesser creature.
"Your arrogance precedes you," Eranus replied, his tone neither approving nor condemning. "But arrogance alone does not grant you immunity. Not here."
"Then why have you brought me here? Surely, this isn't just a social call," I replied, my voice steady. I felt the power crackling in my veins, the magic woven into my very existence stirring as if aware of the threat in the air. They might be the Elders, but even they had no right to treat me like this.
One of the Elders-a woman with piercing silver eyes-stepped forward, her gaze like frost against my skin. "Do you know what you've brought upon yourself, Valeria?" she asked, her voice soft but edged with steel.
"Enlighten me," I replied, unbothered.
Eranus's dark gaze never wavered as he spoke. "You made a contract. An ancient bond with powers beyond your understanding. A pact that binds more than just your life."
My jaw clenched. Adrian. The contract. "And what of it?" I countered. "I am bound by no one's power but my own."
The Elders exchanged a look, and for the first time, I sensed a flicker of something other than their usual indifference. Was it... concern?
"You are not merely bound to a mortal, Valeria," Eranus continued, stepping closer. "This contract has awakened forces older than any of us. Forces that have been dormant for centuries, lying in wait, watching for one reckless enough to disrupt the balance."
I scoffed, though my heartbeat quickened. "Balance? Since when do the Elders concern themselves with such trivial things?"
Eranus's expression darkened. "This is not trivial, Valeria. This contract goes beyond the mortal realm. It reaches into the very core of existence. You have unknowingly invited death itself into your world, and now it seeks to reclaim what you have stolen."
"Death?" I raised an eyebrow, my voice laced with sarcasm. "I've faced death and walked away unscathed. Whoever or whatever it is, I will do the same again."
The silver-eyed Elder's lips twisted into a humorless smile. "Your pride blinds you, Valeria. You've bound yourself not only to Adrian's life but to powers he will inevitably draw upon without understanding the consequences. And these powers... they are not meant for him."
A flicker of realization struck me, an uncomfortable prickle crawling along my skin. When Adrian had saved me at the gala, there had been a surge of power in him, one that was almost... familiar. Yet foreign, uncontrolled. Dangerous.
"What happens to him, then?" I demanded, my voice sharper, a tinge of something raw in my tone.
Eranus watched me carefully, his gaze penetrating. "The bond has given him a fragment of your power, a thread connecting him to realms he was never meant to touch. If he continues, he will unravel. And when he does, he will take you with him."
My mind raced, but I refused to let them see the faint ripple of concern beneath my mask. Adrian was a pawn, one I would protect if it served my interests, but nothing more. The Elders didn't need to know of the occasional ache that tugged at my chest when I thought of him caught in this web of shadows and ancient curses.
"So what is it you want from me?" I asked, meeting Eranus's gaze without faltering. "If you summoned me here to issue some warning, consider it received. But I am not some naive girl who flinches at shadows."
Eranus's expression hardened. "We called you here because you are not above the laws of our world, Valeria. Not even you can break them with impunity. You will either sever the bond or face the consequences."
"Sever it?" I laughed, the sound echoing in the vastness of the hall. "And what would that achieve? The bond is there because I willed it. No mortal-no Elder-can dictate what I do with my power."
The silver-eyed Elder stepped forward, her gaze a piercing blade. "Then understand this, Valeria: If you continue on this path, you will face an enemy unlike any you have known. And should Adrian's power continue to grow unchecked, he will become a danger not only to you but to all of us."
"And if I refuse?" I asked, my voice defiant.
Eranus's gaze turned icy. "Then you will face the wrath of the Elders. You will be hunted, Valeria, and stripped of everything you hold dear. This is not a threat; it is a promise."
A surge of anger rose within me, but I swallowed it, feeling the weight of their words settling into the core of my being. I had known power, had reveled in it, but there was something in their warning that rang with a truth I could not ignore. A dark future looming-a shadow I had unknowingly unleashed.
I took a deep breath, meeting Eranus's gaze with a cold determination. "I don't submit to anyone, Elder. If there's a force out there, I will find it, and I will destroy it. No contract, no curse, no Elder will stand in my way."
For the first time, a hint of pity crossed Eranus's face. "Then I wish you luck, Valeria. For you are embarking on a path few survive."
With a flick of his wrist, the shadows surged around me, and before I could blink, I felt the world tilt, pulling me back through the veil between realms. The last sound I heard was the soft, echoing murmur of Eranus's voice, as chilling as the void itself.
"Remember, Valeria: power is a double-edged sword. And you have yet to taste the bite of its blade."
I had my own path. And I would carve it, no matter how much they tried to pull me back into their web.
---
Adrian's POV
I stood on the balcony of her penthouse, the cool night air biting at my skin, my thoughts far from the quiet city below. Valeria had been gone for hours, and I could feel her absence like an empty space beside me. The pull of the supernatural world-whatever it was that had called her away-had taken her without explanation.
My instincts told me something was wrong. Something was always wrong when it came to her past. It had a way of catching up to us, of dragging us into its shadows. I could only wait now, wait for her to return, and pray that whatever had summoned her hadn't dragged her into something darker than I could handle.
The night stretched on, the minutes dragging like hours. And I knew, deep down, that this was just the beginning of a storm looming.