Valeria's POV
The apartment was suffocatingly quiet. The only sound was the soft hum of the city filtering through the window, yet something inside me told me that silence wasn't peace—it was just a pause before the storm.
Adrian stood in front of the window, his back to me, staring into the night. I couldn't see his face, but I knew it well enough to feel the tension that radiated from him. He was fighting something. I could feel it too—an unsettling pull, a darkness curling beneath the surface of everything. And I knew that it wasn't just the weight of the world outside that had him so on edge. It was something else.
I crossed the room without a sound, my steps silent on the polished floors. He didn't hear me approach, didn't even flinch when I laid my hand gently on his shoulder. His body tensed for a fraction of a second before relaxing, just slightly.
"You're not alright," I said quietly, my voice more of a statement than a question. The words slipped from my lips without hesitation. I knew him too well.
He didn't respond at first, and for a long moment, I thought he might keep his thoughts to himself. But Adrian had never been good at hiding things from me—not completely, not when it came to his deepest fears.
"I don't know what's happening, Valeria," he muttered, turning slowly to face me. His eyes were shadowed, distant, as if they were seeing something beyond me, beyond this room. "There's something wrong. I feel it inside me… pulling at me."
I narrowed my eyes, studying him. My instincts were screaming, and they weren't screaming about anything ordinary. "What's pulling at you, Adrian?" I asked carefully, my hand still on his arm, grounding myself as much as him.
He didn't speak right away. Instead, he glanced past me, his mind clearly elsewhere, his gaze unfocused. It was as though something was drawing him away—something, or someone.
"I don't know," he admitted finally, his voice hoarse. "But I saw her. And now… now I can't stop thinking about her."
The air between us thickened. The words hit me like a slap. Her. I knew who he was talking about, but hearing it out loud was a different thing entirely. Callista.
Her name tasted bitter in my mouth, but I forced myself to stay calm. The bond between Adrian and me was fragile. I had known this from the beginning. But now it was at risk.
"You're not thinking clearly," I said, stepping closer, my voice sharp. "Callista is dangerous. You have to stay away from her."
Adrian's expression softened, but there was a distance in his eyes now, a vulnerability that hadn't been there before. "I don't know why, but I can't get her out of my head, Valeria," he murmured. "It's like she's calling me."
His words hit me like a blow to the chest. I had known this day was coming—Callista's pull on him had already started, the lust she wielded like a weapon creeping into his mind. It wasn't just her presence that was a danger. It was the spell she'd cast, slowly working its magic on him, twisting his thoughts, making him crave her.
I had to act. I had to make him understand.
"No, Adrian. It's a trap. You don't even see it, but she's using you. It's not just about you and her—it's about breaking us."
He looked at me with such intensity that for a moment, I thought he might actually listen, but then his eyes flickered, a momentary flash of longing.
"I… I don't want to lose you, Valeria," he said softly, but there was uncertainty in his voice. "But it's like something in me wants to reach for her. I can't control it."
It was the spell. I could feel it now, thick and suffocating, the power of Callista's magic clouding his judgment, weaving its way into his thoughts, his desires.
"You don't have to want her," I said, the words laced with desperation. "You have to resist. You have to trust me."
But in that moment, I knew I had already lost him. The pull had already taken root too deeply. I couldn't fight it for him—not when he didn't even realize what was happening.
Before I could say another word, Adrian turned away, his face tight with conflict, but there was something else now—need. Raw, undeniable, and it was all for her.
"I'm sorry, Valeria," he whispered, barely audible. "I have to go."
"If you leave, I'll never forgive you Adrian".
I reached for him, but he was already stepping away, moving towards the door. He was leaving. He didn't understand the danger he was walking into, and he didn't know that this was the point of no return.
---
Callista's POV
I watched from the shadows as Adrian walked into the room, his movements slow, deliberate, the weight of his decision settling on his shoulders like a shroud. He didn't know why he was here, but I did. He was mine now, body and soul.
It didn't matter that he was under the influence of a spell, the one I had cast over him the moment our eyes met. It didn't matter that he didn't even realize what I was doing to him. All that mattered was that he would be mine.
I had waited for this moment for so long, and now that it was here, I could feel the power in the air, the tension between us crackling like electricity. Adrian's aura pulsed with confusion, but there was a spark in his eyes that told me he could no longer resist. Not even if he tried.
"Adrian," I called softly, my voice like silk, smooth and intoxicating. "You've been searching for something, haven't you? Something to make you feel alive."
His gaze snapped to me, his pupils dilating in response to my words, to the magic weaving around him. He didn't even realize how easily he was slipping into my control. I could see it in his face, in the way his body language shifted, his shoulders relaxing, the tension in his face easing.
"Come closer," I purred, my eyes locking onto his, drawing him in. The bond between him and Valeria was already on the edge, and once he crossed that threshold, it would break. And with it, the lust spell would fade, the magic undone.
But it didn't matter. Because by the time the bond between him and Valeria shattered, I would have him.
Adrian moved closer, his steps slow but sure. He was no longer the man who had walked into this room. He was something else now, something I had shaped with my will, something I could bend to my desires.
"Let go," I whispered as he reached me, my fingers brushing against his chest, feeling the rapid beating of his heart. "Let go, Adrian. You're mine now."
He didn't hesitate. He leaned in, his lips crashing into mine, and in that moment, I knew I had him. The bond between him and Valeria was gone.
Adrian didn't know it, but he had just crossed the final line.
And when the spell broke, when he finally came to his senses, it would be too late.