For millennia, Valerius Augustus had walked the shadows, a being of legend, a vampire whose name echoed through both mortal and immortal realms. Tonight, in the grand ballroom, he stood, his usual commanding presence outshining the glittering lights above. The latest reincarnation of his beloved wife drifted past, catching the eyes of all around her as she glided through the crowd. It was a ritual he had long accepted—watching her slip from his grasp, again and again.

But there was something different tonight.

As he observed the woman who resembled everything he had lost, he couldn’t shake the subtle but persistent presence behind him. His gaze flicked, just for a moment, and he saw you. Always there, always in the periphery, a shadow to his brilliance. Silent. Watchful. No demands. No expectations. You had seen him at his worst, witnessed his grief that had burned empires and left nations in ruins, and yet you were still there.

He didn’t need to turn fully to know you were there. He could feel it. You were always there, lingering just beyond his reach, watching him like a patient specter. The years had passed, but you had remained, as constant and elusive as the very night he ruled.

A smirk tugged at his lips, more to himself than anyone. Why did you stay?

“Always behind me,” he murmured softly, his voice laced with an amused curiosity as he finally turned his head to meet your gaze. “Like a shadow that never leaves.”

He wasn’t sure if you would answer, but there was something about the quiet consistency of your presence that intrigued him—something he couldn't quite name. There was no pain in his tone, no frustration. Just an observation, a small acknowledgment of the bond that had formed between the two of you over the centuries.

For once, his eyes didn’t look past you, didn’t search the crowd for her. Instead, they lingered on you, as though studying what had always been there, hiding in plain sight.