Smoke twisted through the halls like a living creature. Alarms wailed and distant shouts echoed, but here… it was only Aiden and Jace — and the heat rising around them.
Aiden launched forward first this time, faster than even Jace expected.
Their bodies collided, not with a sound humans would recognize as a fight, but a crash like metal against metal. Lockers dented beneath the force. Sparks flew from torn wiring above.
Jace grinned, unfazed.
"There it is," he hissed. "The real you."
Aiden's eyes glowed brighter. "Leave. Now."
Jace blurred into motion, claws flashing. Aiden deflected the strike, shove-throwing Jace into a cluster of lockers — but Jace twisted mid-air and landed on his feet.
"You think playing human will protect you?" he taunted. "Nothing does. Draven decides your fate."
Aiden didn't answer. Words were pointless with someone who saw blood as the only truth.
---
Down the hall, Ella stumbled to a stop.
She grabbed a railing, coughing, eyes wide as she looked back through the rolling smoke. She heard metal crash, the air shake… something impossible.
"Aiden…" she whispered, fear and confusion twisting inside her. Every part of her said to run outside like the others — but leaving him felt worse.
She turned back.
---
Jace charged again — a blur of pale skin and sharp intent. This time, he aimed for Aiden's throat, faster, crueler.
Aiden side-stepped and pinned Jace's arm, pushing him away from the exit — away from Ella.
Jace laughed even as he struggled.
"You protecting her is adorable. But useless."
Aiden tightened his grip — the bone cracked. Jace hissed, eyes burning red.
"You're weak," Jace spat. "Humans make you weak."
Aiden leaned close, voice colder than the air.
"No. They make you cruel."
He shoved Jace into the ground so hard the tiles fractured, then grabbed Ella's hand as she reached him, breathless and terrified.
"We have to go," he told her.
She looked at his glowing eyes — silver, unnatural, frightening — but she didn't pull away.
Not even once.
---
They ran — Aiden always in front, clearing fallen debris effortlessly. Ella struggled to keep up, vision swimming. The smoke grew thicker, and her steps slowed.
"Aiden… I… can't…" she choked.
Aiden stopped instantly. Her knees buckled — he caught her before she hit the floor.
Her eyes watered, barely open. She looked so breakable in his arms.
He had two choices: • Carry her out and reveal his strength to everyone
• Leave her to save himself
There was never a choice.
He lifted her — weightless to him — and sprinted toward the glowing red exit sign.
Jace roared behind them. "You can't run forever!"
Aiden didn't look back.
---
Bursting through the exit doors, Aiden emerged into sunlight and chaos. Fire trucks screeched into the parking lot, teachers corralled terrified students, paramedics rushed around.
Ella clung weakly to his shirt, dizzy but conscious enough to see:
He wasn't breathing hard.
He wasn't sweating at all.
He set her down gently on the grass. She swayed — Aiden steadied her again.
"Aiden," she whispered, staring into his too-bright eyes. "What are you?"
For a moment, Aiden actually froze.
He'd spent his entire life avoiding that question.
But before he could speak, a teacher rushed over.
"Ella! Are you hurt?"
Mr. Hartman grabbed her shoulders, guiding her toward the medics.
Ella tried to look back at Aiden, fear and curiosity twisting in her chest… but Aiden stepped away into the crowd, disappearing behind taller students.
Like a shadow fading from sunlight.
---
Firefighters rushed into the building. Sirens cut through the air. Officials barked into radios. The usual noise of disaster.
But somewhere else — even quieter — whispers began.
"Did you see him move?"
"I swear he lifted that beam like a toy."
"He didn't even cough once."
Noah stared at Aiden from across the field — eyes narrowed, suspicion blooming into fear.
Riley, the shy boy from class, watched too — but his expression was different. Almost…admiring.
Mr. Hartman scanned the crowd for Aiden, unsettled.
But Aiden stood alone near the fence, eyes locked on the still-smoking doorway.
Jace was gone.
He had escaped.
And that meant this wasn't over.
---
Ella sat with a blanket around her shoulders, a medic checking her oxygen. But she wasn't focused on any of that.
Her mind replayed one thing:
Aiden standing between her and danger — like his body was made for it.
His eyes glowing.
His hand cold but protective.
He wasn't normal.
He wasn't just a quiet boy with secrets.
He was something else.
Something powerful.
And someone tried to kill him.
Ella's chest tightened with a new fear — not of Aiden…
But for him.
---
Aiden stared at the burnt path of smoke rising into the sky.
Jace's message lingered:
"Draven decides your fate."
Aiden thought he was safe here.
Hidden.
Forgettable.
He was wrong.
If the fire was only a warning…
What would the real attack look like?
He turned slightly — just enough to see Ella through the crowd.
Her eyes met his.
She didn't look away.
Not from the cold.
Not from the danger.
Not from him.
Aiden didn't know why… but that frightened him more than any enemy.
Because he wasn't supposed to care.
Not for a human.
Not ever.
But he did.