After Eden [Book #1 of The Fall Trilogy]

Eleven ☾ ☽ Goodnight

"Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light." - Dylan Thomas

Eleven ☾ ☽ Goodnight

The skin on my cheek were the woman had pressed a feather-like kiss burned. I cradled my cheek, long after the last bell rang signaling the end of classes and after dinner was slowly coming to a close. The skin where her blood red lips had left its imprint felt warm against the palm of my hand in contrast to the coolness of the metal band wrapped around my finger.

I ran a thumb across the smooth expanse of the golden ring. It was a simple ring with no jewel or diamond what so ever. The only thing that gave it definition was that inside the band Джоэл 1:6 was inscribed in red. The characters were strange but seemed familiar.

The engraved phrase stared up back at me, offering no meaning or answer to my growing list of questions. Who was the girl in my dreams? Who is R? Why am I having dreams about 9th century men and demons? Is the ring connected to R? How did the ring even get in my hand?

Before my mind could dissolve into a scattered mess filled with hypothetical answers to very pressing problems, I ran straight into a chest. I stumbled back, muttering a quick apology and not even looking up to see the face of the person I had run into before stepping around them to continue my path back to my dormitory. However, a hand clamped on my shoulder, whirling me back around with surprising strength, and for a brief horrifying second I thought I had crossed paths into Seff, Kiara's temperamental boyfriend.

I sighed in relief when I was met with Ronan's green eyes, glinting mysteriously with mischief. His hand was latched quite strongly onto my shoulder, his fingers curled into the cotton of my blazer. He smiled wide.

"Camden, just the guy I was looking for."

For some strange reason, the longer Ronan hung onto me, the more I felt light headed. I blinked slowly, not quite knowing how to respond. My eyes zeroed in on his million dollar smile as memories of earlier today rushed through my brain, my cheeks flaming once again.

"Listen, Ronan," I said, my voice strained just a bit. "I'm sorry about listening on you earlier. I promise I won't tell anyone about-"

"About Shin Minjae?" he scoffed. "Tell anyone; I don't care, but that's not why I stopped you."

"Oh."

Suddenly his eyes become softer and if possible greener, and my head began to swim and the world around me blurred. "I'm going to a party soon, and I don't have any," he paused, searching for a word. "Company," he decided.

I blinked rapidly, trying to clear my mind. Incubus was the word that hit me. Ronan was an incubus, and maybe he was pulling some trick over me.

I shook my head. "I don't think a party is a good idea for me." I imagined a room cramped with supernaturals, the majority with an obvious distaste for vampires.

"Camden," he wined,"we're roommates though." His smile stretched impossibly wide, and with a hard voice, he said, "Come with me."

I didn't hesitate this time. "Okay."

"I knew you would come around," he said, releasing me from his grip. "Follow me."

An hour later, I was being led into a dorm that was much bigger than the one I currently resided in, complete with a huge, ornately decorated living room, fully stocked kitchen, and balcony that overlooked St. Peter's boundaries into the forest. I paused in the threshold, slightly taken aback for a second.

Ronan leaned in, so he could be heard over the vibrating music and loud chatter. "Some students at this academy, donate a bit more to the school than others."