Caiden was used to working in the shadows. As an assassin, you didn't need to be in the spotlight. You just had to get in, do the job, and get out. That's how it always worked—clean, efficient, and quiet. Tonight's job was no different. Or, at least, it should have been.
He crouched on the edge of the rooftop, his scarred face scanning the street below. He was a vampire with the ability to heal but his face had been injured on a mission with hawthorn wood infused with silver, this was the bane of vampires. Although the vampire would heal it would still leave a scar and such a scar ran a considerable length across Caiden's face.
The target was in sight, moving through the crowd like a piece of meat on a platter. Caiden adjusted the straps on his coat, checking the knives on his belt. His vampire instincts were already buzzing—everything about this felt like business as usual.
But something was off.
Maybe it was the air, thick with the smell of rain, or maybe it was just his gut warning him, telling him to be ready for something unexpected. He felt really uneasy. His instincts were actually never wrong. They were almost like a prophecy, never failing. He tried to shake it off. There was no time for doubt. He had a job to do.
He moved, swift and silent, dropping down onto the fire escape and landing softly in an alley. His target was still walking, unaware of the danger creeping up behind them. Caiden's heart beat in rhythm with the sound of his boots on the pavement. It was quiet—too quiet.
Then, before he could take another step, he felt it—a cold, sharp sensation in his side. The breath was knocked from him in an instant. His body tensed, and his hand instinctively reached for the wound. He spun around, shocked, but the pain hit too fast for his reflexes to save him. And there, standing behind him, was Gabriel.
"Didn't see that coming, did you?" Gabriel said, his voice icy, like all the years they'd spent together meant nothing. The knife in his hand gleamed under the dim streetlights, still dripping with Caiden's blood.
Caiden's chest tightened. His best friend, his closest confidant... the one person who had always had his back. And now, here he was, standing over him, knife in hand, a betrayal in his eyes.
"Why, Gabriel?" Caiden asked, the words coming out with ragged breaths.
Gabriel's lips curled into a cold smirk. "Because the organization's done with you, Caiden. You're weak. You've always been weak. They want someone else now. Someone better." His eyes flicked down to the knife in his hand, then back to Caiden. "And you, my friend, are a liability."
Caiden felt the ground shift beneath him. He didn't know what hurt more—the betrayal, or the fact that he had felt it coming and ignored it. He thought he knew Gabriel better than anyone. They'd fought side by side. They'd trusted each other. Or so he thought.
"You're not getting away with this," Caiden spat, trying to gather himself. But before he could even react, Gabriel shoved him hard.
The impact sent him flying backward, crashing into the edge of the roof. He could hear the sound of his breath leaving him in a rush as his body tumbled off the side.
For a moment, everything was chaos—his vision blurred, his body twisted in the air, and the world spun in a dizzying, suffocating blur.
He hit the ground hard, the pain shooting through him like a thousand needles. But vampires didn't die so easily. Cadien pushed himself up, groaning, his side throbbing where Gabriel's knife had punctured him. Blood dripped from the wound, but his body was already working to heal it. Vampires were built to survive.
The world was still spinning, but Cadien wasn't finished. Not yet. He wasn't going to let Gabriel—his Gabriel—win. He forced himself to stand, gritting his teeth through the pain.
"Bastard," he muttered under his breath. He was losing blood fast, but he couldn't let Gabriel know he wasn't dead. The organization needed to believe he was gone, and Gabriel—well, he'd made sure of that. Cadien would make sure Gabriel paid for it.
Shakily, Caiden stumbled to his feet, fighting to stay conscious. He looked around. The streets were empty, no one was around to witness the scene. Good. He didn't want anyone to see him like this. He was still a monster, after all. He needed to disappear before anyone caught wind of the fact that he was alive.
He turned, barely able to put one foot in front of the other, his side aching with every step. But he kept moving, pulling the shadows around him like an old friend. He had to get away. He had to survive. He couldn't let Gabriel's betrayal be the end of him.
He wasn't dead. Not yet.
And Gabriel? Gabriel wouldn't know what hit him when Caiden came back.