Chapter 6 Chapter 6

“I have worked hard to keep you unnoticed since you came to this city. Now the entire campus is talking about you. This draws the kind of attention we do not want.”

I glared at him, heat rising in my chest.

“You act as if I am some sort of threat. I was protecting someone.”

“I never said you were a threat.” Kael lifted his gaze, looking directly into my eyes with deep seriousness. “I am saying you are different. And your difference can attract enemies.”

There was something in his tone that made my heart beat faster. Not out of fear, but instinct.

A warning.

As if something had already begun moving in the shadows. Something far bigger than campus rumors.

Kael tilted his head slightly, lowering his voice.

“And there is something else. I do not like what I have been sensing lately. Someone new is here. Someone who seems far too interested in you.”

I tensed. “Who?”

Kael watched me for a long moment, as if deciding whether or not to say it.

“There is a new lecturer starting tomorrow. And for some reason, his presence feels strange.”

A cold shiver crawled across my spine.

“What is his name?”

Kael answered softly.

“Mr Vale.”

And at that moment, the evening breeze grew sharper, carrying a sense of dread I could not shake.

Not because I knew him.

Not because I knew what he truly was.

But because, for some reason, hearing his name alone made my heart beat far too hard.

This morning I only wanted to enjoy a cup of hot chocolate in the cafeteria, until I heard a new rumor spreading across the faculty.

“I heard the new lecturer is really young.”

“And apparently he is from abroad.”

“What was his name again? Mr. Vale? They say he is super handsome.”

I heard them whispering in the cafeteria, but I did not pay much attention because I had already heard about him directly from Kael yesterday. And this morning, when I stepped into the Classical Literature lecture hall, I saw him myself.

The man was standing in front of the board, writing something with his left hand. The black shirt he wore fit his body perfectly, and his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, revealing pale skin and faint veins along his forearms.

When he turned around, the room seemed to grow quieter.

“Good morning,” he said, his voice deep and clear, carrying a light accent I could not immediately place. “I am Mr. Vale. Starting today I will be taking over your Classical Literature course.”

I watched him from the very back row. The way he spoke, the way his eyes moved slowly across the entire room, felt as if he were evaluating something invisible.

And when his gaze finally met mine, time seemed to stop.

I did not know why my breath suddenly caught. It lasted only a fraction of a second, but it was enough to make my heart beat strangely fast.

I quickly lowered my head, pretending to focus on my notebook, but my heartbeat was completely out of control.

“What is happening to me.”

Throughout the lecture, I tried to focus on the material, but every time he walked past the rows of seats, a faint scent filled the air. A subtle metallic note mixed with cedar and something only a vampire like me could recognize.

My body stiffened. Impossible.

That aura felt unfamiliar yet unbearably alluring.

“Stop being ridiculous,” I scolded myself.

But my body refused to follow my mind. Every time he walked past the rows of seats, I felt heat rising along my skin, as if his presence ignited something that had been dormant for a long time.

When the class ended, several female students immediately approached him.

“Mr. Vale, you were absolutely incredible. Everyone was instantly focused.”

“When you explained about Homer earlier, I was completely mesmerized.”

“If I may ask, are you still single?”

Their laughter rang like painful bells in my ears. For some reason my chest felt hot, tight, and uncomfortable.

I did not understand why I paid so much attention to them, or why I wanted them to step away from him.

When one of them touched his arm while laughing, my fingers curled into a fist. My notebook bent under the pressure of my grip.

His eyes suddenly turned toward me. Directly to where I sat.

I froze.

A faint smile appeared on his lips. It was not the polite smile he had given the staff earlier, but something softer, as if it held a small secret only the two of us shared.

I quickly looked away, trying to hide my face that had suddenly grown hot.

And for the first time since I entered the human world, I truly did not understand what I was feeling.

Several days passed quietly. There were no more rumors about me, Elena Sine, or the strange incident in the literature faculty corridor. Everything seemed to disappear on its own. The other students returned to their assignments, campus clubs, and small dramas that always appeared from time to time. I simply became another unnoticed new face. I also did not meet the new lecturer who had made my heart race, since today was not his teaching day.

I spent most of my time in the university cafeteria, sitting in the same corner while reading. The place was crowded enough to keep me from standing out, yet far enough that no one felt inclined to approach me. That day was no different. I opened a thick ancient history book and lowered my head, pretending to be absorbed in it, even though my mind wandered elsewhere.

Then someone stood beside my table. I saw a pair of polished black shoes before slowly lifting my gaze.

“Excuse me, is this seat taken?”

A young man stood there. He was tall, with neatly styled blond hair and calm eyes. Not an ordinary kind of calm, but a calm that observed. A calm that made me wonder if he was simply polite or quietly assessing every detail of me.

“Go ahead,” I replied.

He sat down. The noise of the busy cafeteria drowned the silence between us. I returned to pretending to read until he spoke again.

“You are Elena, right?”

My throat tightened for a second. Hearing that name from a stranger always made me tense. It was not truly my name, and every time someone used it, I felt as if they were testing the identity I worked so hard to hide.

“Yes,” I said. “Do you need something?”

He smiled lightly, as if calming a cautious creature. “I am Rafael. We are in the same Modern European History class. The professor said you rarely speak, but your assignments are always the best.”

I stared at him without expression. If he expected me to feel flattered or shy, he was mistaken. But his tone held no teasing or intrusive curiosity. It was simply straightforward.

“I only study,” I replied.

“I know.” Rafael closed his laptop slowly and pointed to a small book he took from his bag. It was old, its cover worn, written in Latin. “That is why I want you to join our presentation group. Our topic is ancient migration. We need someone who can read old texts.”

I stared at the book for a long moment. Something deep within me stirred. The past. Ancient language. A life no human possessed anymore.

“I can,” I finally said.

“Great. We will start tomorrow after class in the main library.”

Before the conversation could continue, my phone vibrated. I checked the notification and felt my heart drop a little.

Come home now.

From Kael.

Just that, but enough to make every muscle in my body tense. Kael never sent a short message unless the situation was serious.

“I have to go,” I told Rafael.

He nodded as if he already expected it. “See you tomorrow, Elena.”

I left the cafeteria quickly. The evening air greeted me as I stepped outside, carrying a cold breeze that brushed against my neck. I walked through the small garden toward the east gate when someone called out.

“Elena.”

I stopped and turned. The small brown-haired girl I had helped before hurried toward me. Her face was bright, completely different from the fear she once carried.

“Thank you again,” she said with a smile. “The faculty magazine wrote an article about bullying. Since then everything has stopped.”

I nodded. “That is good.”

She hesitated before speaking again. “And you do not need to worry. People have stopped talking about what happened. No one blames you. And I am sorry for avoiding you because of the rumors.”

I only smiled in response.

After she left, instead of feeling relieved, my body grew tense.

If rumors disappeared this quickly, it meant someone had controlled them. Someone with the power to silence gossip in one night.

Kael.

I quickened my pace. The air around the garden felt colder. As I walked past the shadows of the trees, I sensed something else. Not a sound. Not movement.

Only a gaze.

I turned my head sharply. Among the dark branches, I saw it. A pair of silver eyes reflecting the dim light. Calm, yet not human. A gaze that watched me as if assessing my disguise.

I stood still for a few seconds, then turned away and continued walking without rushing.