### Celeste
Blackthorn was mine.
Not because I was the smartest. Not because I was the prettiest. But because everyone was fucking terrified of me.
And fear was better than love.
Love got you betrayed. Fear got you obeyed.
But there was one thing I couldn't control.
Lucian Draven.
He didn't love me. Hell, half the time he didn't even look at me.
But when he *did* look? It wasn't me he saw. It was her.
Lyra Vale.
He looked at her like she mattered. Maybe with hate, maybe with something else I couldn't name—but it was still more than he gave me.
And that was enough to make me hate her guts.
---
I caught Vale alone by the lockers. Perfect timing — her hands were full of books, hair falling into her face. Vulnerable.
"Hey, mouse." I slammed the locker shut right in front of her, making her flinch. The *clatter* of metal rang down the hall. "Forgot to squeak hello this morning."
She glared at me, clutching her books tighter. "Celeste, just leave me the fuck alone."
I smiled sweetly. "Language. You kiss your daddy with that mouth?"
"Fuck you," she spat, trying to walk past me.
I blocked her path, shoving her shoulder so the books spilled everywhere. Papers fluttered across the floor like snow.
"Oh, look at that. Little Vale made a mess. Should I help you clean it up?" I crouched, snatched one of her papers, and scanned it. A sketch. Pretty damn good.
I tore it in half.
Her eyes widened. "You bitch—"
"Don't." I leaned close, my perfume choking her. "Don't pretend you'll ever fight back. You won't. You're weak. That's why Lucian doesn't even look at you."
Her jaw tightened, her knuckles white. For a second, I thought she'd swing at me.
I almost wanted her to.
Instead, she dropped to her knees, gathering her ruined papers, shaking like she might cry.
The victory tasted sweet. But underneath, there was something sour. Something empty.
Because I knew why I was doing it.
It wasn't just about power. It was about him.
I hated her because Lucian looked at her. Even if it was just to sneer, to glare, to trade venom across the room—it was more than he gave me.
And I couldn't stand it.
---
"Jesus, Celeste," Zara muttered when she caught up to me. "You're brutal."
"That's why I'm queen."
"Or maybe it's why everyone secretly fucking hates you."
I shot her a glare sharp enough to kill. She looked away, but she didn't take it back.
"Take that back." I ordered
"No,because it is true!" She defianed
Without warning, I smacked her face so hard blood came out her mouth.
"Do you take it back." I asked
"Ye--yes." She stammered as I walked ahead and she headed to the bathroom.
---
Later, in the bathroom, I checked my lipstick in the mirror as Zara cleaned he bleeding gums. My phone buzzed.
A message.
All caps. Bold. Like a scream on the screen.
**YOU CAN'T KEEP THIS UP. YOUR TIME IS ALMOST UP. LEAVE BEFORE I MAKE YOU.**
My stomach flipped. My pulse spiked.
I glanced around the empty bathroom, suddenly sure someone was watching.
Zara asked with swollen gums. "You good?"
I shoved the phone into my clutch. "Fine."
She raised a brow. "Doesn't look like it."
"Mind your fucking business."
She lifted her hands. "Whatever."
---
That afternoon, I cornered Lucian by the courtyard wall. He was smoking, as always, like he didn't give a single fuck if the teachers caught him.
"You've been ignoring me," I said, forcing a coy smile.
He exhaled smoke right in my face. "Because I don't want you, Celeste."
I froze, heat crawling up my neck. "You don't mean that."
"I do. Our families can force us into an engagement, but you're nothing to me."
The words cut sharper than any blade. I laughed anyway, tilting my head like it was a game. "We'll see."
But inside, something cracked.
---( A day before Prom)
That night, I met my aide again. The one who'd been circling me for months, the one who had a transactional deal with me, the only one who had the guts to stand up to me or even cross my part. The one who knew all my secrets.
"You're slipping," they said.
"I'm still in control."
"No." Their voice was low, lethal. "You're not."
I forced a smirk. "You need me. Without me, you're nothing."
The laugh that came back was pure venom. "Keep telling yourself that, "Queen. " But soon? You'll belong to the rats in gutters, not Blackthorn. One way or another."
They walked away
And then my phone buzzed again.
**TICK TOCK, QUEEN. YOUR CROWN IS SLIPPING.**
---
I stared at the message until my hands shook and I knew Damn well who it was. My weakness.
For the first time, the fear that I used to weaponize against everyone else turned inward.
And when I thought about Vale — about Zara, about Lucian, about my aide, about all the masks I wore — it hit me.
I wasn't untouchable.
I wasn't safe.
I shouldn't have let my guard down
I should have listened to my Dad. "Don't let them see your cracks."
I shouldn't have trusted anyone. Should have done it alone.
But it was too late.
It was then I realized my time ruling Blackthorn Academy was over not now but a long time ago when I trusted one person... my last confidator. I was gone forever
*My phone chimed*
LAST WORDS?