Up close, I felt the peace I’d been longing for. My chest no longer felt tight, and I could breathe normally. I looked up to see that many flowers had bloomed; they looked like tiny ornaments.

I felt his presence before I heard his voice.

“You were called by Dodona, too, huh?” He walked closer until we were side by side.

“What do you mean?”

Vlad bobbed his chin toward the oak tree before us. “Legend has it that the tree whispers things to those who can hear it.” The lights from the tree cast shadows and made him look mysterious. “Were you called?”

“No,” I replied curtly. When he didn’t say anything yet continued to stand there beside me, I couldn’t help asking, “What are you doing here?”

“I was going to the fish pond, it’s my favorite place. But then I saw you.”

“And?” I sneered, still avoiding eye contact. “You saw me and you thought I wanted company?”

“No. I’m probably the last person you want to talk to.”

“Then why are you here?”

“Because I keep my promises, and I promised my sister I would keep you safe, so here I am.”

I replied, “That promise is null and void. You don’t have to bother yourself with this anymore.” When he didn’t move, I added, “Just walk away, Vlad.” I didn’t see it coming until his hands were on my arms. “What are you doing?”

“You’re so stupid.” His low voice laced with desperation. In any other circumstance, I would’ve argued until his ears bled how he was more stupid than me. Yet something in his voice made me stay quiet. Then, with a voice filled with agony, as if it took everything in him to say it, he uttered three words I never thought I would hear from my nemesis, Vladimir Ambrosia. “I love you.”

He leaned in, and our lips were mere breaths away, and my heart beat faster and faster as he inched closer. I felt the velvety brush of his lips on mine before he jerked upward as if he’d just kissed molten lava. “I can’t.”

“Why?” I asked, startled by the desperation in my voice that trounced the curiosity.

“It’s complicated.” He shook his head, frowning. Despite the chilly air, he was sweating. “Let’s just leave it at that.”

“Are you serious?” I threw my hands up in the air. “You just confessed your love for me, nearly kissed me before suddenly pushing me away, and all you have to offer as an explanation is ‘it’s complicated’? What is it? What is it that you’re not telling me?”

“I can’t, Avy. Just forget what I said.”

“No,” I stubbornly answered, holding my ground.

“Just drop it.”

“No,” I repeated, and inched closer, closing the distance between us. “Tell me.”