CHAPTER THREE: The Things They Hide

Aria didn’t sleep that night.

Not really.

Every time she closed her eyes, she saw their faces.

Riven’s certainty.

Lyra’s hesitation.

And Kael—

The way he looked at her like she was something he couldn’t figure out… or worse, something dangerous.

By morning, her head ached.

“This is crazy,” she muttered, dragging herself out of bed. “It has to be some kind of prank. Or—some weird school tradition.”

Even as she said it, she didn’t believe it.

Still, she got dressed.

Because what else was she supposed to do?

Run?

Something told her that wasn’t an option.

The classroom was nothing like she expected.

No bright lights. No modern desks.

Instead, tall windows let in dim gray light, casting long shadows across rows of wooden seats. The air felt… still.

Too still.

Aria hesitated at the doorway.

“First time?” a voice asked.

She turned.

A girl leaned against the wall nearby, arms crossed. Her appearance was flawless—sharp features, pale skin, dark eyes that seemed almost too deep.

Beautiful.

But not in a comforting way.

In a way that made Aria instinctively uneasy.

“Yeah,” Aria said cautiously.

The girl’s gaze swept over her, slow and deliberate.

Then she smiled.

It wasn’t kind.

“Well,” she said, pushing off the wall, “this should be interesting.”

Before Aria could respond, the girl walked past her, brushing her shoulder slightly.

The contact sent a sudden chill through Aria’s body.

Cold.

Unnaturally cold.

Aria turned, watching her take a seat by the window.

Something about her screamed danger.

“Don’t mind her.”

Aria jumped again—she was really getting tired of that.

Lyra appeared beside her, smiling gently this time.

“That’s Seraphine Voss,” she said quietly. “Vampire.”

Aria’s stomach dropped.

“Of course she is,” she muttered.

Lyra’s lips twitched. “She doesn’t like… surprises.”

“Let me guess,” Aria said dryly. “I’m the surprise.”

“Pretty much.”

Great.

Aria took a seat near the middle of the room, trying to ignore the way Seraphine occasionally glanced at her.

No.

Not glanced.

Watched.

Like a predator deciding if something was worth hunting.

“Relax,” Lyra whispered. “She won’t attack you in class.”

“That’s supposed to make me feel better?”

“A little.”

Before Aria could reply, the door opened again.

And everything shifted.

She felt it instantly.

That same awareness.

That same pull.

Kael.

He stepped into the room, his gaze briefly scanning the space before landing on her.

Aria’s breath caught.

There it was again—that strange, unexplainable connection.

Like something invisible tightening between them.

Kael frowned slightly.

Then, without a word, he walked to the back of the room and sat down.

Far from her.

Aria swallowed.

Why did that bother her?

“Alright,” a voice called from the front.

A tall man stood at the desk, his presence commanding immediate silence.

“Welcome to Blackwood Academy.”

His eyes swept across the room—lingering on Aria just a second longer than the others.

“Here, you will learn control,” he continued. “Discipline. And most importantly—secrecy.”

A pause.

“Because the human world must never know you exist.”

Aria’s chest tightened.

So it was real.

All of it.

“This school was built to maintain balance,” he went on. “Between species. Between instinct and restraint.”

His gaze hardened slightly.

“And those who fail to control themselves… will not remain here.”

A quiet tension filled the room.

No one spoke.

No one moved.

Aria felt it—fear.

Not hers.

Theirs.

The class ended too quickly.

Or maybe not quickly enough.

Aria wasn’t sure.

She stood, gathering her things, her mind spinning—

And then it happened.

A flash.

Sudden.

Sharp.

The world tilted—

And for a split second…

She wasn’t in the classroom anymore.

She was outside.

Night.

The courtyard.

Students running.

Screaming.

Blood on the ground.

And Kael—

Eyes glowing.

Standing in front of her like he was trying to protect her from something—

No—

From someone.

Aria gasped.

The vision snapped.

She stumbled back, knocking into her desk.

“Hey—are you okay?” Lyra’s voice came quickly.

Aria’s breathing was uneven.

“I—I just…”

Her hands trembled.

What was that?

“That happens when your powers start surfacing.”

The voice was soft.

Too close.

Aria turned slowly.

Seraphine stood beside her.

She hadn’t even heard her approach.

“You saw something, didn’t you?” Seraphine continued, her dark eyes gleaming with interest.

Aria shook her head instinctively. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Seraphine smiled again.

Sharp.

“You will,” she said.

Then she leaned closer, her voice dropping to a whisper—

“And when you do… everyone else will too.”

A chill ran down Aria’s spine.

“Stay away from her.”

Kael’s voice cut in.

Cold.

Firm.

Seraphine straightened, glancing at him with mild amusement.

“Protective already?” she teased.

Kael didn’t react.

But his eyes?

They weren’t calm.

They were warning.

Seraphine studied him for a moment.

Then she stepped back.

“Fine,” she said lightly. “For now.”

She turned and walked away, her presence lingering even after she was gone.

Silence.

Heavy.

Aria looked at Kael.

“You saw that, didn’t you?” she asked quietly.

He didn’t answer immediately.

Then—

“Yes.”

Her heart sank.

“What does it mean?”

Kael stepped closer.

Not too close.

But closer than before.

“It means,” he said slowly, “you’re not human.”

The words hit differently this time.

Because now—

She had seen something impossible.

Something real.

Her throat tightened.

“And the vision?” she asked.

His jaw clenched slightly.

“That,” he said, “means something bad is coming.”

A pause.

Then, quieter—

“And somehow… you’re in the middle of it.”

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