{CAROLINE}
"I wasn't looking for him," I added quickly. "I was searching for you. I went to the lake in where you frequented to, but you're not there."
She said nothing, and I continued, oblivious to the dark air circling around her.
"I was on my way back when Valerius and his two lackeys blocked my path," I continued, the words spilling faster now that they'd begun. "They attacked me. I fought back—but Valerius was too fast. Without my arcane, I couldn't keep pace. It's unjust, truly. Humans are forbidden the very power we might use to defend ourselves, while these creatures of the night move with impossible speed and strength, even stripped of magic."
Her jaw tightened.
"Then Lord Vladimir appeared," I said. "He saved me. I don't know why—only that he did. He didn't kill them, though. Something else happened. You won't believe it."
Silence stretched between us.
