The darkness inside the abandoned facility seemed to swallow every sound.
Seraphina stood frozen in the office, staring toward the doorway where the voice had come from.
“Who are you?” she asked.
No answer came.
Lucien stepped forward, placing himself between her and the hallway.
“Stay here.”
Seraphina grabbed his arm.
“No.”
He glanced at her.
“Seraphina.”
“You’re not going alone.”
Before Lucien could respond, the lights suddenly flickered back on.
The hallway was empty.
Whoever had been standing there was gone.
Lucien’s eyes narrowed.
“He’s still here.”
“How do you know?”
“I can feel him.”
Seraphina looked around nervously.
Then she noticed something.
Lucien’s hand was shaking.
“Lucien?”
He quickly closed his fingers into a fist.
“Let’s go.”
“What happened to your hand?”
“Nothing.”
“Let me see it.”
“Seraphina, we need to leave.”
She stared at him.
There was something wrong.
His face had lost some of its color, and a faint layer of smoke seemed to rise from the collar of his shirt.
“Lucien…”
“I said I’m fine.”
He turned toward the hallway.
Then he stopped.
His entire body suddenly stiffened.
A sharp breath escaped him.
Seraphina watched as he grabbed the wall.
“Lucien!”
He didn’t answer.
Something dark appeared beneath the skin of his neck.
Black veins.
They spread slowly toward his jaw and disappeared beneath his shirt.
Seraphina’s eyes widened.
“What is happening to you?”
Lucien squeezed his eyes shut.
“Nothing you need to worry about.”
“Nothing?”
His fingers began trembling violently.
Then his right hand flickered.
For half a second, she could see straight through it.
Seraphina froze.
“Your hand…”
Lucien looked down.
His expression changed.
He had been hiding it.
But now she had seen everything.
His hand slowly returned to normal.
Then it happened again.
Flicker.
Transparent.
Solid.
Transparent.
Lucien leaned harder against the wall.
“Don’t come closer.”
Seraphina ignored him.
“What’s wrong with you?”
“Stay back.”
“Lucien!”
A thin crack appeared along his wrist.
It wasn’t a wound.
It looked as if something beneath his skin was breaking apart.
Smoke curled from the crack.
Seraphina reached for him.
He tried to move away.
But his legs suddenly gave out.
She caught him before he hit the floor.
“Lucien!”
He was burning.
Not like a fever.
His skin was so hot that Seraphina instinctively pulled her hand away.
“What is happening?”
Lucien struggled to breathe.
“The cross…”
Seraphina immediately looked at her left hand.
The black cross was glowing faintly.
“What about it?”
“It’s too far away.”
She stared at him.
“But I’m right here.”
“You were supposed to stay close.”
“What does that mean?”
Lucien looked at her.
For the first time since she had met him, there was genuine fear in his eyes.
“I’ve been hiding something from you.”
Seraphina’s heart sank.
“What?”
He swallowed.
“The cross hasn’t been mine for almost six months.”
She stared at him.
“I know.”
“No.” His voice weakened.
“You don’t understand.”
Another crack appeared across his forearm.
His skin became transparent around it.
“I’ve been without it for nearly six months.”
Seraphina’s expression changed.
“And you’ve been like this the whole time?”
“At first, it was manageable.”
He struggled to stand.
“I thought my body would adjust.”
“But it didn’t.”
Lucien shook his head.
“No.”
He looked at his fading hand.
“It started with small things. Weakness. Losing control. Then parts of my body started disappearing for seconds at a time.”
Seraphina’s eyes filled with disbelief.
“You knew?”
“Yes.”
“And you never told me?”
“I didn’t want you to feel responsible.”
She stared at him.
“You’re disappearing.”
“I know.”
His voice was almost a whisper.
“If I stay away from the cross for too long, eventually there won’t be enough of me left to come back.”
Seraphina’s breath caught.
“How long?”
Lucien looked away.
“I don’t know.”
“I don’t know!”
His voice echoed through the empty building.
He immediately lowered his head.
“I’m sorry.”
Seraphina stared at him.
She had never seen him like this.
Lucien Silva, the man who always seemed untouchable, was standing in front of her with black veins crawling across his skin and smoke rising from his body.
And he was terrified.
A sudden noise came from the hallway.
Lucien looked up.
“We have to leave.”
Seraphina grabbed his arm.
“You can barely stand.”
“I’ll manage.”
“No.”
She raised her left hand.
The black cross immediately reacted.
A dark glow spread across her palm.
Lucien stared at it.
“Touch it.”
Seraphina stepped closer.
“What?”
“Your hand.”
She understood.
She placed her left hand against his.
The moment their skin touched, the cross flashed.
A wave of dark energy travelled through Lucien’s body.
The cracks disappeared.
The black veins faded.
The smoke stopped.
His transparent hand slowly became solid again.
Lucien took a deep breath.
For a moment, everything was quiet.
Seraphina didn’t release his hand.
“You’ve been suffering like this for six months.”
Lucien looked at her.
“Yes.”
“And every time you disappeared from my sight, you were getting worse.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Lucien looked down at their joined hands.
“Because I didn’t want you to think you were keeping me alive.”
Seraphina’s eyes softened.
“You are not a burden.”
Lucien said nothing.
She tightened her grip.
“And you’re not disappearing alone.”
His eyes lifted to hers.
Before he could answer, a loud metallic sound echoed from somewhere beneath them.
Both of them looked toward the floor.
Another sound followed.
Something was moving underneath the building.
Seraphina’s expression changed.
“What was that?”
Lucien slowly turned toward the basement stairs.
“I don’t know.”
Then the black cross on Seraphina’s hand suddenly burned brighter.
Lucien’s face went pale.
“Seraphina…”
“What?”
He stared toward the darkness beneath the facility.
“Whatever is down there…”
His voice became low.
“It knows you’re here.”