Ethan was a young Vila in his twenties, feared and even hated by his peers and his other comrades. His family was powerful, his lineage was pure and very old. His days went by without a hitch, and he particularly enjoyed taking it easy in complete freedom, far from his parents who put pressure on him from morning to night with their sordid secrets. The Arena was his little haven of peace, away from his family's influence and his mother's tyranny. But that was before he felt her.

The young man had a well-established routine that suited him completely. In the morning, he had his breakfast in his room like all the other Vilas, the only race that had the privilege of having their food brought directly to their quarters. Then, he usually spent his morning in the library strolling or reading fiction books. The room was big enough for him to enjoy it in peace without anyone bothering him. When he didn't have class in the afternoon, he returned to his refuge between two shelves of books.

Vilas had very few classes, just a few hours here and there during the week. The other races had a bit busier schedule. Especially the magicians, the most numerous, since they took advantage of the school grounds to master their specialty.

Much of what Vilas learned was about the history of other races and how their societies functioned. The primary purpose of their presence at the Arena was above all political. The school helped them to bond with every race to expand their social network and strengthen the influence of their family.

Of course, that didn't interest Ethan at all. Upon arriving at the Arena, he had initially been respected by the other Vilas, until they realized that he did not adhere to his family's politics. He remained intimidating in their eyes in a way, but they sometimes allowed themselves disrespectful deviations which particularly annoyed him.

But the second his Vila smelled her, Ethan knew his perfect little routine was going to shatter into a million pieces. He had felt her presence even before she reached the school gates. His body had warmed up, his spirit had become intoxicated, and his instinct had awakened. The phenomenon lasted only a few seconds, quickly replaced by an interstellar void and an intense disgust at the realization of what had just happened. A crucial need that did not exist a moment before had just been created in him.

Immediately, he left his room and went to the office of his teacher, Vassili More. Knocking twice on his door, he didn't wait for the man to tell him to come inside and settled into the room, impatient and smoking inside as he began to pace.

"Hello to you too, Ethan," the professor said absently, busy revising some papers. "What can I do for you?"

"I found her," he muttered angrily.

Vassili looked up from his parchments and watched his student carefully. Given the timing, it could only be Mia. A calculating glint flashed in the vampire's eyes upon receiving the information, but Ethan was far too furious to notice it. He had no reason to be suspicious, after all. The professor was a longtime friend of his family.

"Isn't that supposed to be a good thing?" he replied doubtfully.

"A good thing ?!" Ethan yelled.

His fists clenched until his knuckles turned white. After a stern look from his teacher asked him to calm down and tell him to contain himself, he agreed to sit down and breathe. Or at least to try.

"She's a human! A fucking human! I thought all this shit was over now that we'd wiped them out, that it would never happen again! What is a human doing on Istarea?"

"She crossed a portal from her world to ours without doing it on purpose," Vassili replied with a sigh to hide the discomfort his student's harsh words were creating in him. "And how would that be a bad thing anyway?"

"What...are you kidding me?"

"Easy. I may be a friend of your family, but here I am also your teacher. I advise you to address me in another tone, there are limits to my tolerance," he objected dryly.

Ethan closed his eyes and took several long inhales and exhales before returning his attention to his teacher. He was still seething inside but managed to keep his rage at a reasonable level to continue the conversation without exploding.

"Good. Now answer my question."

"There are just dozens of reasons why that would be a bad thing! She's weak, she'll be used against me, my family will probably try to kill us! Have you already forgotten what happened to my brother? Oh, and did I mention she's ridiculously weak?"

He could imagine hundreds of scenarios in which this whole story would end badly, both for him and for her, although he didn't give a damn about the fate of the young human. He had dozens of examples and anecdotes in his head to support the fact that it couldn't be going well. Most relevant was the fate of Adam, his brother he had never known.

"Look, it's not like you have a choice. No Vila has ever been able to change their choice. Why do you think we call it a curse? You can never go against what your inner Vila wants. You are bound to her, whether you like it or not. Fighting against this fact will only bring you pain."

"I'd rather suffer than be tied to this," he replied with disgust.

"As you wish," sighed his teacher.

Something in the vampire's eyes seemed to want to scream at him that he was stupid and that his protests wouldn't change anything, but he was in no mood to continue the conversation. Vassili had noticed it very well and preferred not to insist. The reactions of his student were dictated by fear, he was not yet ready to be reasoned with.

Without waiting, Ethan left the room and took refuge in his personal room, where he could let his rage break out as he wanted. There were supposedly no humans left on Istarea, and the only one who landed in their world in several decades had to be his soul mate? His mother must have bathed him in waters of bad luck when he was a child, it was the only possible explanation for the unfortunate chance of which he was the victim. A beautiful irony for his family.

Never, ever, would he accept the fate his Vila was trying to impose on him. He was not willing to die for this. At least, that was what he was trying to convince himself at the moment...