NOCTURNE

"These violent delights have violent ends
And in their triumph die, like fire and powder,
Which, as they kiss, consume."
Romeo and Juliet, Act II, Scene VI

"I think I know what you are," I whisper, my voice low, almost inaudible.

He takes another step towards me and rests his hand next to my face. He looks at me with such concentration that his forest-green eyes seem more alive than ever.

"And I need you to know it doesn't matter to me what you are."

"It doesn't? Then why have this conversation?" His words feel cold and bleak. He tries to give me a smile, but then looks past me.

I grab his shirt and pull him towards me before he can walk away. I don't think I'll be able to handle it if he disappears again.

"Because-" I try to think, but fall short of words. "Because I want to know you. I need to know all of you."

This seems to displease him. He shakes his head, frowning.

"This is more complicated than I'd planned," he murmurs to himself.

"I thought we were past all the evasiveness," I say as I try to hold his face between my palms. He tries his best to avoid my gaze. "If you don't want to have this conversation, it's fine."

He stays silent, staring at the wall behind us.

"You are angry." I feel defeated. This is not how I wanted our afternoon together to go. "I should never have said anything."

"Does it matter?"

I breathe out. "I'm just curious."

"What are you curious about?"

"Where do you live?"

"The last villa at the end of the road, right before the forest begins," he answers promptly, then adds, "You know this, Siya."

"And how long have you lived there?"

He blinks, and a soft shadow falls across his sharp features. His lips twitch.

"A few centuries."