Inheritance of Shadows [Hugo Vlad x Fem!OC]

Chapter 15: The Arising Conflict

Yukari reluctantly went home that night.

It was late, and she arrived home at three.

She dropped her belongings on her desk and plopped down on her bed face first.

It's true she has to rest. It wasn't like her to think about rushing like that.

"Why am I not thinking straight? I'm usually calm in situations like this."

She sighs against the covers until rolling around to look up the ceiling.

"Am I anxious because Hugo might be gone?"

She bit her lip.

"Can we really afford another day?"

She shook her head. She really wants to believe Hugo is able to withstand the curse. He wouldn't get devoured that easily.

Her eyes shifted to her hands, reminiscent of his touch from the other night.

It still lingered.

Then, she remembered back to that incident, where his grip had changed—tight, trembling, no longer his. The demon had surfaced, that took him over.

Hollow—of the terrorizer that bounds his soul.

The silk of ashes that clings to his inner core.

Eyes, red like a beaten bird.

How it shook her spine, seeing another shadow inside his body.

It hurled her deeper into thought.

She clapped her arms around herself. Anxiousness kept her weary.

How she desperately wanted to reach him—pull him out of the darkness.

She didn't want to let him drift away.

She didn't want him to shapeshift before her very eyes.

She clapped her cheeks and shook her head.

She needed rest. She cannot falter. If she wavers, everything will be for naught. She has to go in headstrong.

She has to believe Hugo can hold on a bit longer.

—

Yukari didn't remember when she fell asleep, but she awoke to a faint buzz from her phone.

10:04 a.m. New Message from Lycaon: Safehouse secured. Coordinates sent. We'll be ready by evening. Rest while you can.

She blinked at the screen, sitting up slowly. They had exchanged contact details before they departed last night. A warehouse near the fishing port. Of course Lycaon would have connections in places like that.

With a sigh, she pulled herself together, gathered her things, and headed out.

When she arrived, the sharp scent of saltwater hit her first. The air was thick with seagull cries and distant hums of dock machinery. The bright rays from the sun made her cover her eyes as she stepped out of the taxi. Yukari approached the address—a long-forgotten warehouse with rusted shutters and faded paint. The building looked abandoned, but the faint shimmer of a surveillance drone hovering nearby told her otherwise.

She knocked once on the rusted side door.

It slid open a second later. Yurina peeked out, tail swaying.

"There you are," Yurina said. "Thought you were gonna oversleep and show up late."

"I don't oversleep," Yukari muttered, brushing past her into the space.