Vampire University

Chapter 4

The rest of the day passed in a blur, but I couldn’t stop thinking about what Tyron had said. His words echoed in my mind, twisting and turning, tugging at my thoughts. He had a way of getting under my skin, of making me question everything around me.

“Tristan can’t protect you from everything.”

That line, more than anything, kept replaying in my head. The way Tyron had looked at me, the smirk, the mockery—it was like he was daring me to trust him, to doubt Tristan. I had told myself I wouldn’t, that I couldn’t, but doubt had a funny way of creeping in when you least expected it.

I found myself wandering the halls of Vampire University, lost in thought. The dark, towering walls seemed to close in on me, the endless spiral staircases and narrow, twisting corridors feeling more like a labyrinth than a school. Everything here felt ancient, heavy with history and secrets—secrets that people like me had no business uncovering.

But what if I needed to?

Tyron’s offer of protection. His cryptic comments about Tristan being too sentimental. He had hinted that there was more going on here than I knew, that Tristan was hiding things from me. That was what bothered me the most. I couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that Tyron was right.

And that scared me.

The idea that Tristan might be hiding something didn’t sit well with me. From the moment I met him, he had been my lifeline in this place, my protector. He had saved me and my friends more than once, kept us safe when we had no idea what we were walking into. But Tyron had planted a seed of doubt in my mind, and now I couldn’t help but wonder what Tristan wasn’t telling me.

What secrets did he carry?

I found myself standing outside the library, its tall, arched doors looming before me. I hadn’t planned on coming here, but something pulled me toward it. Maybe it was the need for answers, the desire to know more about the world I was now a part of. Or maybe it was because I needed to understand the history between Tristan and Tyron.

Something had happened between them—something dark, something that had driven them to become mortal enemies. And somehow, I was caught in the middle of it.

I pushed open the heavy doors and stepped inside. The library was enormous, rows upon rows of towering bookshelves stretching as far as the eye could see. It was eerily quiet, the only sound the faint rustling of pages from unseen students studying in the corners. The air was thick with the scent of old parchment and leather-bound books, and a faint chill hung in the air.

As I wandered through the aisles, I couldn’t help but feel small in the grandness of it all. I reached out, trailing my fingers along the spines of the books, most of them written in languages I couldn’t read. There was so much about this world I didn’t understand.

I found a secluded corner and sat down, pulling a random book from the shelf. It was ancient, its pages yellowed and brittle. The cover was embossed with symbols I didn’t recognize, but something about it felt… important.

I opened the book, but before I could start reading, my mind drifted back to the conversation with Tyron. What had happened in the past to turn him and Tristan into enemies? There had to be more to it than what I knew. And if Tristan was hiding something from me, what could it be?

The more I thought about it, the more curious I became. Tyron had spoken of power, of the true nature of their world. He had said that Tristan wouldn’t show me those things, that he was too afraid. What did that mean?

I leaned back in my chair, staring up at the high, vaulted ceiling. My thoughts began to drift to what little I knew of their history. Tristan had mentioned once that he and Tyron had been close, once—before things had changed. He hadn’t gone into details, but there was a darkness in his eyes whenever Tyron came up, a pain he tried to hide.