Red

‘Red,’ he thought, unable to resist staring at her lips. He would have remained distracted by her cherry-tinted lips if not for the surge of power he felt coming from a weaker specie within the room.

“Do you want me to take care of this one or…” He didn’t let his companion finish, snapping his fingers once before walking briskly toward the dissenter.

Time froze in an instant. Drinks were spilled midair, and conversations were only notable by the opened but unmoving mouths of the people who had divided themselves into several groups.

His footsteps echoed on the marbled floor, delaying the inevitable face-off only for a fraction. It didn’t take more than a minute before he grabbed the troublemaker by the throat.

The moment he made contact, several images flashed through his mind. It didn’t make any sense to him at first. The only prominent picture he managed to grasp was the sight of blood and the fear that it had evoked from the one seeing the vision.

“Let—urghk!” he was not interested in the rebel’s excuses, tightening his grip on him.

“The likes of you disgust me,” the one in power uttered, his voice cutting daggers into the other. It was followed by the unmistakable sound of bones snapping. He beheaded the dissenter swiftly and watched his remains turn to ash, gradually disappearing into thin air, leaving no trace of his existence.

The remaining individual wasn’t interested in staying longer than necessary. Hence, with another snap of his fingers, the festivities resumed. He would have left by then.

However, seeing the woman sprawled on the floor, her trembling hands covering her face, he paused.

“Leonel,” his voice of reason whispered. But the latter raised his right hand, palms up, silencing her.

“Get the car ready, Macy. We should leave before the counselor can catch up to us.”

Without another word, Macy let out a resigned sigh and left Leonel. He walked with purpose, stopping right in front of the woman.

“Get up,” he commanded, anticipating her shocked expression. She slowly lifted her head reluctantly, making eye contact with him.

At that instance, Leonel felt a faint knot twisting his insides, his chest suddenly tight. He pocketed his hands, hiding the sudden discomfort that made taking charge of the situation challenging.

Leonel watched the shift in her reaction carefully through her eyes, unaware of what really happened. The look of surprise evident in her expression had turned into confusion. He wished he could erase her memories of the vision. But that would require more than the amount of power he was allowed to use.

“You’re safe now,” Leonel uttered, extending one hand to her. She continued to look at him, bewildered and uncertain.

Her honey-colored eyes were hard for him to resist. He gulped hard, fighting off the range of emotions ranging inside him as memories of his past life flashed in his mind’s eye.

Leonel had to drop the offered hand and looked away, unable to maintain eye contact.

“Get up,” he repeated, using a cold tone as a coping mechanism. “You look rather pitiful than charming. It’s horrendous.”

His words somehow pulled her away from the disturbing imagery and drowning in the depths of confusion. Shaking her head as if waking up from another one of her nightmares, Corinne blinked, getting to her feet.

She staggered at first, uncertain of what had taken place only a few minutes ago. Hard as she tried to recall anything, she couldn’t seem to grasp the events before she found herself sitting on the floor.

The mask she had on was still in place, but for some reason, staring at the man in front of her made her feel exposed. His presence was sending a message to her. But Corinne was overwhelmed by all kinds of emotions that she couldn’t fully process what was going on.

She felt like she was floating, hardly existing. It seemed impossible for her to distinguish if she was still alive or if she was hovering between life and death.

‘There’s something familiar and peculiar about him,’ she thought, biting her lower lip while contemplating how to react to the handsome stranger before her. Corinne was certain she had never met him, yet, she felt a distinct connection with him.

Casually turning around, oblivious to how he was affecting Corinne, the attractive stranger faced her, evoking a forbidden desire, one that she associated with fictional characters in movies and books.

To prove her point, Corinne pinched her hand, letting out a silent yelp afterwards. She felt her pulse quicken at the sight of his seemingly glowing irises. She blinked to take a good look, but it was no longer as bright as she thought it was.

'Am I hallucinating?' she pondered. 'Or is this what they call infatuation?'

Her heart hammered, pounding so hard against her chest. She rather sensed an undeniable attraction toward the beautiful stranger standing before her. Yet, his shift of tone and behavior left her baffled and annoyed, contradicting the pull of attraction.

Despite that, his nice build and powerful, electrifying aura, made it impossible to tear her gaze away, but Corinne had to. His purplish eyes were hypnotic, proving it dangerous to keep up with the staring game.

She found it odd that the longer she stared at him, the more familiar the sensations she was feeling became. Her brows furrowed at the thought. She couldn’t find any explanation as to what her body was trying to convey.

“Who are you?” Corinne asked, staring at the fancy mask he wore. She pointedly avoided looking into his eyes, afraid she would get sucked into them again.

The gorgeous stranger deflected her query as a similarly beautiful woman approached him. She regarded Corinne with a quick glance before leaning to whisper in the man’s ears. The matter looked alarmingly urgent, awakening her curiosity about what was going on. However, she had no time to ask as her eyes suddenly felt heavy.

Corinne let out a yawn, her legs turning jelly. Her head was suddenly foggy, making it difficult for her to form any coherent thought.

“Forgive me” were the last words Corinne remembered hearing before losing consciousness.