Ariadne's heart slammed against her chest as their eyes locked.
The air left her lungs...
It was him.
It was him.
But then,
Without a word, without even a flicker of recognition—
He turned.
And walked away.
She blinked.
"What…?" The whisper barely left her lips as she watched his tall frame retreat toward the door. One by one, the others followed—jovial, quiet, mischief-laced. No goodbyes. No drinks. No reason.
The door shut behind them with a muted click.
Gone.
As if they'd only stepped inside for a single breath of her world.
As if fate was playing games with her again.
The stool creaked under her weight as she stood too fast. Jasper called her name, but it barely registered as she pushed past the crowd, nearly tripping over a forgotten barstool. She flung the door open just in time to catch the sleek black car pulling out of the street and vanishing around a corner.
Gone.
Again.
Her fists clenched. She was trembling—but not from fear.
From certainty.
He had seen her. She knew it.
He turned away on purpose.
And somehow… that hurt more than being forgotten.
But it didn't matter.
Because now she knew he was real.
Now, she had seen him.
And nothing,nothing—was going to stop her from finding him again.
*****
The ride back was quiet.
Unusually quiet.
Cassian, usually the first to fill silence with stories or sarcastic nonsense, only exchanged a glance with Theo in the rearview mirror. Alec didn't even look their way , arms on the wheels
Caelen sat alone, unmoving, his face cast in shadow despite the soft interior lights. He could feel them watching him, waiting for something. An explanation. A word. A hint of what the hell that had been.
He offered none.
The gates groaned open as they pulled into the secluded estate, towering trees swallowing the drive in shadow. The mansion stood like a stone memory, dark and cold, untouched by time.
The moment the car stopped, Caelen stepped out, boots silent against the gravel. He didn't wait. Didn't look back. He disappeared inside with the same ghost-like silence he had always mastered.
Cassian exhaled, long and slow. "So… anyone going to ask what the hell that was?"
Theo threw his hands up. "I did ask. Caelen just chose to ignore me."
"He felt something," Alec said calmly, finally stepping out. "That much was obvious."
"You think she's a threat?" Theo asked.
Alec shook his head once. "Not yet."
"But she's something," Cassian muttered. "He looked like he saw a mirror and hated the reflection."
Inside, Caelen stood at the base of the grand staircase, fingers flexing at his sides. The mansion was too quiet. His mind was too loud.
He didn't want to talk about it. Not to them. Not to anyone. He didn't understand it yet himself, and that was the part he hated most.
That pull. That girl. Those eyes.
She had looked at him like she knew him. Like she'd been waiting.
He clenched his jaw and ascended the stairs, vanishing into the dark of the upper halls.
Whatever it was,
It needed to be silenced.
Buried.
Forgotten.
But deep inside, where his old, cold magic pulsed like a second heart…
He knew that wasn't going to happen.
Not anymore.