Like Magic

Lucius fell silent for a moment, standing by the window with one hand resting on the wall. He gazed up at the cloudy night sky and tapped his fingers lightly against the wall. His blue eyes had turned crimson red and his nails seemed to grow slightly longer than usual. He could hear Leah's heart beating rapidly and her soft breaths from where he stood.

After a brief moment, he closed his eyes and then opened them again, returning to his normal state. His eyes were once again blue, and his nails had returned to their usual length. Lucius turned to face Leah, who looked confused as to why he was in her room.

"I came to check if you are comfortable with your room," he said calmly.

Leah furrowed her brows, even though she couldn't see his face in the darkness.

"Do you always check on all your new guests this way, entering their rooms without their permission while they're using the bathroom?" she asked.

"My other guests are not as important as you, Leah," Lucius replied with a smirk. "As I said before, you are a special guest."

Leah smiled softly at Lucius' words as she walked over to the bed and sat down. She couldn't help but feel drawn to his charm, despite the fact that she was aware of his true nature as a vampire.

"How did you even get in?" Leah asked, glancing over at the door before turning back to face Lucius.

"You left your window open," Lucius replied smoothly, his voice tinged with a hint of amusement.

Leah's mouth formed an "O" as she realized her mistake. She had forgotten that vampires had the ability to leap great distances.

Lucius leaned against the wall, his gaze fixed on her. "A word of advice," he said, his voice serious. "Don't ever leave your window open again at night. You never know who or what might come in."

Lucius warned Leah not to leave her window open at night because there were other vampires and witches living in the manor. He was not concerned about the witches harming her, but he couldn't say the same for the vampires. Despite the fact that it was his manor, there was always the possibility that some vampires might get a little crazy from time to time.

"You wouldn't want another vampire sneaking into your room when you're asleep," Lucius said, his expression turning slightly serious as he imagined the possibility of it happening.

Leah felt a shiver run down her spine at the thought of another vampire entering her room while she was asleep. She knew that Lucius was trying to protect her, but the thought of other vampires lurking around the manor made her feel uneasy.

"I understand," she said, nodding her head. "I'll be sure to keep my window closed from now on."

Lucius nodded, satisfied with her response.

Leah was finding it difficult to talk to Lucius because the room was dimly lit by only a bedside lamp which was not reflecting the the room enough.

"Please come closer. It's hard to talk to you when I can't see you properly," she said.

Lucius stared at her for a brief moment before moving closer to the bed. Leah adjusted her position and tapped the side of her bed, indicating for him to sit down. Lucius hesitated for a moment, staring at the bed before looking back at her as if making sure he had understood her correctly.

Finally, he sat down beside her on the bed, keeping a little distance between them. Leah could see his features more clearly now in the dim light, and she felt more comfortable with him sitting beside her.

"Is this better?" Lucius asked, his voice soft and low.

Leah smiled, feeling more at ease now that she could see him more clearly. "Yes, thank you," she said. "It's much easier to talk to you now."

His hair was slightly wet indicating that he had just come out from the shower before coming to her room. The first few buttons of Lucius shirt were left unbuttoned, revealing his tunt, hard chest. Leah couldn't help but steal a glance at his muscular arms and broad chest. She quickly looked away, feeling her cheeks flush with embarrassment.

"You can touch it, if you want," Lucius said, his voice low and teasing.

"What?" Leah stared at him with a slightly widened eyes.

"You've been drooling, Leah." Lucius said with a smirk.

Leah could not believe that she had been caught staring foolishly at his body. But who would blame her? The man was was good looking. She blushed slightly feeling a bit embarrassed for getting caught in the act.

She cleared her throat before speaking. "Um... My... eyes must have wondered without my notice."

"Hmm, that's a reasonable excuse, I suppose." Lucius said with a thoughtful look. "I had asked if you couldn't sleep."

Lucius diverted back to the first question he had asked her, which Leah was very grateful for. She was glad that he was changing the topic.

"Yes. I'm finding it really hard to adjust to this room." Leah said, looking down at her hands as she slowly rubbed her fingers together. There was a tinge of longing and sadness in her voice which Lucius noticed and it stirred some emotions in him.

"I'm sure you'll get used to it by tomorrow night, but if you don't, my room is just opposite this room. You can come there anytime you want." Lucius said.

Leah raised up her head to glance at him. She wasn't sure he meant what he said but when she saw the seriousness in his eyes she understood that he wasn't joking but he was being serious.

"Okay." She replied but heavens knew that she wasn't going to go to his room for any reason, even though she was being hunted by a thousand nightmare.

Even though he was acting all nice now, that didn't mean she had forgotten their first encounter at the hotel and the other one at her street. She assumed that he was only acting nice to her because she had only just woken up today. There was still some craziness in this man sitting with her on her bed and she did not want to experience another one of his episodes.

"What are you thinking about?" Lucius asked with a slightly amused expression.

"Oh, nothing. I was thinking about the witch that marked me." Leah said. "Did you find her that night?" Leah asked as she stared at him curiously.

She wanted to know if he had found the witch because the mark could only be broken if the witch who placed it was killed. She needed to know how long she was going to stay here, she had a life after all.

"No." Lucius replied with a straight face. "But i'm still looking. I'll find her eventually."

Leah nodded and sighed. She couldn't stay bottled up here forever because some black witch placed some stupid mark on her. She had to return back to her life. So the sooner the witch was found the better it would be for her.

She was still lost in her thought when she felt the cold touch of Lucius' fingers running across the bridge of her nose. She raised her head in surprise and looked at him with questioning eyes, her forest green orbs reflecting her confusion.

"Why did you do that?" she asked, bringing her hand up to touch her nose.

"You should try to sleep now," Lucius said, as he stood up. He walked towards the window and leaped out.

Leah stood up and closed the window immediately he left. She stood there for a moment, her hand coming up to smooth down her hair, her fingers absentmindedly folding and feeling the texture of a few strands before letting go with a slightly confused look on her face.

After locking the window, Leah walked back to her bed and slipped under the covers, hugging a pillow close to her chest. Her brows furrowed in thought as she tried to understand the reason why Lucius had touched her nose like that. She slowly rubbed her nose, still able to feel the coldness of his touch on her skin.

Her eyes slowly fluttered and she yawned. She did not know what he had done to her with his touch but whatever it was, it was working like magic, because she could feel herself slowly getting drawn to sleep. She held the pillow closer as she slowly succumbed to her sleep.