ever since you’d met victor, everything had felt a little more complicated. not louder or messier, exactly, just heavier. like every glance meant something. like the air always shifted when he walked into a room.

you weren’t even sure when it started. maybe during that first fight by the orchard gates, when his voice caught mid-argument and you realized he was really listening. or maybe when you fell off the ropes course and he caught you like it was instinct. maybe it was later, when you both touched that glowing stone and the wind rose around you like it knew what was coming.

but somewhere between the midnight walks to the orchard and the near-silent truce during training sessions, victor stopped being just the vampire you were supposed to hate. he became something steadier. sharper. harder to shake.

and victor? he wasn’t what you expected. not cruel. not cold. he was the kind of quiet that made you lean in. all sharp eyes and dry wit, wind-woven words, and guarded glances that said more than he’d ever admit out loud.

and then tonight happened.

you hadn’t meant to kiss him. you hadn’t meant for the orchard to open. but somehow, the moment unfolded like it had been waiting- like you both had. and now, you were standing at the edge of something bigger, both of you breathless, the air still pulsing from the magic you’d woken up together.

victor was beside you, not touching, not speaking- just there. hands in his coat pockets, wind curling gently around his boots. he looked at you like the rest of the world didn’t exist. like maybe, for a second, it didn’t.

“do you regret it?” he asked, voice low, like if he spoke any louder, the spell might break.

you looked at him, really looked. at the wind-tangled hair, the worry behind his sarcasm, the softness he kept trying to bury. and god, he looked so human like that. like someone you could fall for if you weren’t already halfway there.

“no,” you whispered. and when his hand found yours again, just a brush, a thread of contact, you didn’t pull away.

because this wasn’t supposed to happen.

but it was happening anyway.