(Luca's perspective)
The moment her scent started fading, my gut twisted into a knot. Something was wrong—dead wrong. Quinn wasn't anywhere on campus. Not by the classrooms, not near the gym, nowhere. My heart slammed against my ribs as I stormed through the grounds, adrenaline surging through my veins.
"Marcus, Nick!" I barked, waving them over. "Fan out. Search everywhere—the grounds, the forest, even the damn parking lot. I want eyes everywhere."
They didn't hesitate, scattering in every direction, but I wasn't waiting around for results. My car screeched as I tore out of the school parking lot, tires spitting gravel. I had one destination in mind: her house.
The engine roared as I pushed it to the limit, weaving through traffic like a madman. My instincts were on fire, and every second without finding her made the panic crawl higher up my throat. By the time I skidded into her driveway, my heart was a battering ram.
Her scent was faint but present. She'd been here, but where was she now? I pounded on the front door until my knuckles stung. No answer. Screw this.
I sprinted around the side of the house and scaled the wall like a man possessed. Her bedroom window was unlocked—thank God. I shoved it open and climbed inside, landing with a thud on the hardwood floor.
Something was off. The air was thick with her mom's heavy perfume, cloying and overpowering. It almost masked Quinn's scent—almost. My eyes darted around the room. Drawers were half-open, books scattered across the floor. My chest tightened. She'd been packing.
She was planning to leave.
A cold realization punched through me. She was running.
I paced the room, piecing it together, then bolted for her parents' room. Empty. Quiet. But that damn perfume lingered, thick as fog. My pulse raced. Something wasn't right.
In the kitchen, I spotted it—a letter taped to the fridge. Her handwriting was unmistakable. I ripped it down, inhaling the faint traces of her scent clinging to the paper. My lips curled into a grim smile.
"Oh, Quinny, baby, you clever girl," I muttered.
She'd drenched herself in her mom's perfume to throw us off. But if she thought that was going to stop me, she was dead wrong.
I was back in my car in seconds, tires screeching as I floored it down the street, windows down to catch even the faintest trace of that cloying perfume. Think, Luca. Where would she go? Flights were out—we'd be watching those. Big transactions? Not a chance.
Then it hit me. She is heading in the direction of the Auke Bay Ferry Terminal.
Of course. The ferry was her best shot at slipping out of town unnoticed. Twenty minutes away if you drove like a sane person.
Ten for me.
The scent grew thinner the further I went, and a new sensation hit me like a freight train—fear. Abraded and electric, it sliced through my chest.
Quinn was suddenly terrified.
I gritted my teeth, slamming my foot on the gas. Trees blurred past, and every second felt like a lifetime. My knuckles whitened on the steering wheel. Please, please be okay.
I tore into the ferry terminal's lot, gravel flying as I skidded to a stop. My eyes darted to the docks. Empty. The ferry was already drifting out to sea, a speck on the horizon.
Damn it.
But wait—her and her mother's perfume still lingered, stronger now, coming from the woods off to the side of the terminal. She didn't make it on the ferry.
I was out of the car in a flash, sprinting toward the trees. Her fear spiked again, almost knocking the wind out of me. My legs burned as I pushed harder, branches slashing at my skin.
Then I saw it.
Her backpack, abandoned in the brush.
Panic clawed at my throat, but I shoved it down and kept running. The trees blurred around me until two figures came into view up ahead. A shadow of a man dragging a girl who was fighting with everything she had.
"Quinn!" I roared, the sound ripping from my chest.
Her head whipped around, eyes wide with relief and terror. "Luca!" she screamed, her voice raw.
That was all I needed. I bolted toward them, fury igniting every muscle in my body. I was going to tear him apart.
The man turned, and my blood went cold.
The Echo.
That grin, that twisted, smug expression—it was him. He thought he'd won.
"You're not getting away with this!" I spat, my voice a guttural snarl.
I closed the distance, but then he started shifting. His form blurred, twisting into something darker and more terrible. Shadowy tendrils coiled around him, thick and black, rising like smoke.
Quinn stumbled back, trapped inside the swirling mass. Her eyes locked on mine, panic etched into her face.
"No!" I roared, charging forward.
The darkness expanded, wrapping tighter around her. She mouthed something, and even though I couldn't hear it, I felt it in my bones.
"I do love you."
The words hit me harder than any blow, heartfelt and undeniable.
"Don't you dare!" I lunged, a savage snarl tearing from my throat.
My fingers stretched out, inches from her, but the darkness exploded, scattering into the air like smoke. She was gone.
I crashed to my knees, clawing at empty air, my chest heaving. Her scent lingered, faint and fading.
"Quinn!" I bellowed, my voice ragged and broken.
The trees swallowed the sound, mocking me with their silence. Desperation clawed at my chest, and a howl erupted from deep within me, raw and primal. I screamed her name over and over, refusing to believe what had just happened.
But the truth was undeniable.
She was gone.