I spent the next morning staring at my security monitors.
It was a pathetic use of a CEO’s time a man whose hourly rate could fund a small municipality but I was mesmerized. On Camera 4, Mika Dela Cruz was currently trying to fight a vending machine in the third-floor breakroom. She wasn't winning, but she was definitely winning the hearts of the two accountants watching her with amused expressions.
"She’s a hazard," I muttered, leaning closer to the screen.
"She’s a delight," Luna’s voice chirped from my doorway.
I jumped, nearly knocking over my cold espresso. My younger sister, Luna, was the only person who could sneak up on me. She had a way of moving that didn't disturb the air, a natural grace that seemed to soothe the jagged edges of my curse.
"Luna. You’re supposed to be at the university," I said, regaining my composure.
"And you’re supposed to be running a tech empire, not playing Big Brother with the new hires." She walked into the room, expertly stopping exactly four feet from my desk. She looked at the screen, where Mika was now triumphantly holding a bag of chips. "So, that’s her? The girl who didn't explode when she touched your desk?"
"Jap has a big mouth," I growled.
"Jap is worried about you. We all are." Luna’s playful expression softened. "Ethan, the 'Solis Hum' in this room... it’s different today. It’s not a jagged line. It’s a wave. What did she do to you?"
"She gave me a sugar packet and insulted my tan," I said, shutting off the monitor. "She’s just... loud. The curse probably couldn't find a way to get a word in edgewise."
"Or," Luna said, tapping her chin, "she has an anchor. Some people are born with a natural grounding. If she can stand near you without the lights flickering, she’s the most valuable thing in this building."
"She’s an intern, Luna. I’m not using a civilian as a magical lightning rod."
"Then why did you just spend twenty minutes watching her buy Cheetos?"
I didn't have an answer.
Two hours later, I was forced to leave my sanctuary. A hardware malfunction in the R&D labs required my personal biometric override. Usually, I’d clear the floor first, but the urgency of the project—a new clean-energy battery—required me to move fast.
I walked down the hallway like a parting sea. Staff members pressed themselves against the walls, whispering "Good morning, Mr. Solis" to the floorboards. I hated it. Every bowed head was a reminder that I was a leper in a Brioni suit.
I reached the elevator and pressed the button. The doors slid open.
And there she was.
Mika was standing inside, balanced on one leg, trying to fix the heel of her shoe. She was surrounded by three large cardboard boxes of "Urgent Marketing Samples."
"Oh! Mr. Vampire!" she exclaimed, nearly toppling over. She caught herself on the elevator railing. "Going down?"
I hesitated. Taking an elevator with someone was a gamble. In a confined space, the curse’s "feedback loop" could be lethal. If the elevator stalled, the tension would rise, and if the tension rose, the cables might snap.
"I’ll take the next one," I said stiffly.
"Don't be silly, there’s plenty of room if you don't mind the smell of scented highlighters." She kicked one of the boxes to make a tiny square of space. "Come on. I promise not to bite. That’s your job, right?"
Against every instinct I possessed—against the literal warnings carved into my family’s history—I stepped inside.
The doors hissed shut.
The space was tiny. I could smell her perfume—something that smelled like citrus and actual sunshine, a sharp contrast to the sterile, ozone-heavy air I usually breathed.
"Floor four?" she asked, reaching for the buttons.
"Ten," I corrected.
"A man of high altitudes. I get it." She leaned against the wall, watching the floor numbers climb.
I kept my hands behind my back, my muscles locked. Stay calm. Keep the Hum low. I focused on the sound of the pulley system, listening for the telltale groan of metal fatigue.
"You know," Mika said, breaking the silence. "You have a very intense vibe. It’s like standing next to a microwave that’s about to finish. It’s very... buzzy."
"You shouldn't be talking to me," I said, staring straight ahead at the brushed steel doors.
"Because I’m a lowly intern and you’re the King of Tech?" She laughed, a light, musical sound that made the elevator’s overhead light flicker—not with a threat, but with a strange, rhythmic pulse. "I’ve had worse bosses. I once worked for a lady who made me color-coordinate her cat’s litter box. At least you just look like you’re perpetually calculating the end of the world."
"I am," I whispered.
She went quiet for a moment. Then, she did something unthinkable. She stepped closer.
The boxes were between us, but she leaned over them, her face only a foot away from mine. I could see the tiny flecks of gold in her eyes. My heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird.
"Why are you so afraid, Ethan?" she asked. Her voice was no longer teasing. It was curious. Genuinely curious.
"I’m not afraid of anything," I lied. My skin was starting to prickle. The elevator gave a sudden, violent lurch.
No. Not now. The lights hissed and went out. We plummeted for a terrifying half-second before the emergency brakes slammed into place with a scream of tortured metal. We were stuck.
"Okay," Mika said into the darkness. "That was definitely the carpet static again, right?"
"Don't move," I gasped. I could feel the curse rising, a dark, heavy pressure in my chest. In the dark, the "Solis Hum" was deafening. I was going to kill her. The brakes would fail, the car would drop, and it would be my fault because I had let her get too close. "Mika, get away from me! Press against the far corner!"
"Ethan, calm down. It’s just a power glitch."
"It’s not a glitch! It’s me!" I shouted, the secret tearing out of my throat.
The darkness in the elevator began to swirl with faint, violet sparks. My hands were glowing—a dim, ghostly light that revealed the sheer terror on my face.
Mika didn't scream. She didn't run to the corner.
She reached across the boxes and grabbed my hand.
The impact was like a physical blow. The violet sparks didn't explode; they were absorbed. The moment her skin touched mine, the freezing cold in my veins turned into a rushing torrent of warmth. The Hum didn't stop—it sang.
The emergency lights flickered back on. The elevator leveled itself out.
I looked down. Her small, warm hand was wrapped firmly around my fingers. Her skin was soft, and where we touched, a faint golden light was pulsing, holding back the purple shadows of my curse.
Mika looked at our joined hands, then up at me. She wasn't terrified. She looked like she had just solved a puzzle she’d been working on her whole life.
"Whoa," she whispered. "That was definitely not carpet static."
I pulled my hand away as if she were made of fire, my breath coming in ragged gasps. The elevator doors groaned and opened. We were on the fourth floor.
"Stay away from me, Mika," I choked out, stepping over the boxes and stumbling out into the hallway. "For your own sake... stay away."
I didn't look back, but I could feel her gaze on me warm, persistent, and dangerously bright all the way down the hall.