ARIA'S POV
"You're lying."
The words burst out of me before I can stop them. Elena just stares at me with those sad, knowing eyes.
"Vampires aren't real," I say, backing away from her. "This is some kind of prank. A hazing thing for new students, right? You're all in on it—the creepy castle, the floating candles, those people outside pretending to—"
"Aria." Elena's voice is gentle but firm. "I wish I was lying."
"No." I shake my head hard. "No, no, no. Vampires are stories. Movies. They're not—"
Elena pulls up her sleeve again, showing me her wrist. The scars are small and round, like puncture marks. Dozens of them. Some old and faded, some newer.
"These are real," she says quietly. "Every single one."
My stomach lurches. "Someone could have done that with... with needles or—"
"You saw those students in the hallway. You heard what they said." She sits on her bed, looking tired. "New blood. Fresh. They were talking about you, Aria. About drinking your blood."
The room tilts. I grab the desk to steady myself.
"This is insane," I whisper.
"I know." Elena stands and walks to her dresser. She pulls out a thick packet of papers—official-looking with the Thornveil crest on top. "But it's real. And you need to understand what you're dealing with if you want to survive here."
She hands me the packet. My hands shake as I open it.
WELCOME TO THORNVEIL ACADEMY - STUDENT GUIDELINES
The first page looks normal. Class schedules. Meal times. Dress code.
Then I turn to the second page.
SAFETY PROTOCOLS FOR HUMAN STUDENTS
My blood runs cold as I read:
Do NOT leave your dormitory after midnight. Feeding hours are strictly enforced. Do NOT bleed in public. The scent triggers hunting instincts. Do NOT wander the fourth floor. Blood donation wing is restricted to authorized personnel. Do NOT accept drinks from anyone. Blood binding is illegal but common. Do NOT remove your protection bracelet. It marks you as off-limits for feeding.
Protection bracelet? I look down at my wrist. There's nothing there.
"Where's my bracelet?" My voice cracks.
Elena's face goes pale. "You should have gotten one when you arrived. They always give human students—" She stops. Stares at me. "Aria, who gave you your invitation?"
"I... I don't know. It just appeared on my birthday."
"That's not how it works." Elena starts pacing. "Human students are sponsored by vampire families. Someone has to vouch for you, protect you, take responsibility if something happens."
"I don't have anyone! I thought this was just a scholarship—"
"There are no scholarships to Thornveil!" Elena's voice rises. "Every student here either has vampire blood or serves vampires. Humans don't just get invited randomly!" She grabs my shoulders. "Someone brought you here on purpose. But without a sponsor, without a protection bracelet—Aria, you're not protected. You're just... available."
The word hangs in the air like a death sentence.
"I have to leave," I say, moving toward the door. "Right now. I'll call someone, get a car—"
"With what phone? What money?" Elena blocks my path. "We're in the middle of the Carpathian Mountains. The nearest town is fifty miles away through forest full of things worse than vampires."
I want to scream. Want to cry. Want to wake up from this nightmare.
But deep down, I know it's real. The floating candles. The portraits with living eyes. The way those students moved in the hallway—too fast, too smooth, too wrong.
And Celeste's smile. That knowing, satisfied smile.
"She knew," I whisper. "My stepmother. She knew what this place was."
Elena's expression turns grim. "Then she sent you here for a reason."
I can't sleep.
Hours pass. Elena's breathing evens out in the bed across from mine, but I'm wide awake, staring at the ceiling. Every sound makes me jump. Every shadow looks like it's moving.
Finally, I give up and go to the window.
The campus spreads out below—ancient stone buildings, dark courtyards, winding paths lit by moonlight. It would be beautiful if it wasn't so terrifying.
Then I see them.
Students. Moving across the grounds.
But they're not walking. They're blurring—moving so fast they're barely visible. One second they're on one path, the next they're fifty feet away. Impossible.
A girl jumps from a rooftop three stories up. She lands perfectly on the ground and keeps walking like it's normal.
Two boys race each other, running up the side of a building. Actually running UP the wall like gravity doesn't exist.
My hands grip the windowsill. This is real. This is all real.
Something moves at the edge of my vision.
I turn my head slowly.
A boy floats outside my window.
I stumble backward, gasping. We're on the THIRD FLOOR. There's nothing out there but air and a fifty-foot drop.
But he's there. Hovering just outside the glass. Watching me.
He looks about eighteen, with dark hair and eyes that gleam in the moonlight. He's beautiful—impossibly beautiful, like all the portraits downstairs. When he smiles, I see fangs.
He taps on the glass with one finger.
My scream dies in my throat. I can't move. Can't breathe.
He tilts his head, studying me like I'm something interesting. Something... appetizing. His nostrils flare slightly, like he's smelling something good.
Then he points at me. At my wrist specifically, where the protection bracelet should be.
He raises one eyebrow. Where is it?
My heart hammers so hard it hurts.
The boy's smile widens. He raises his hand to knock on the window—
"GET AWAY FROM THERE!"
Elena yanks me back from the window so hard we both fall. She scrambles up and slams the curtains shut, her face white with terror.
"What were you thinking?" she hisses. "Never look them in the eye! Never acknowledge them!"
"He was just floating there! How was I supposed to—"
"Third floor has protection wards!" Elena checks the locks on our door frantically, her hands shaking. "No vampire can enter without permission. They can't even touch the windows or walls. It's in the academy charter."
"Then why—"
"Unless," Elena's voice drops to barely a whisper, "they want something badly enough to break the rules. Ancient vampires—the really powerful ones—can override protection magic if they're willing to pay the price."
She turns to me, and I've never seen anyone look so scared.
"That boy was testing the wards, Aria. Seeing how strong they are. Seeing if he could get to you." She grabs my arms. "Normal students don't attract that kind of attention. Normal humans are boring to them."
"Then what am I?" My voice cracks.
Elena opens her mouth to answer when our door handle rattles.
We both freeze.
The handle turns slowly. Testing. All five locks are engaged, but something on the other side is trying them one by one.
Click. The first lock opens by itself.
"No," Elena breathes.
Click. The second lock.
"That's impossible," she whispers. "Nothing should be able to—"
Click. Click. Click.
All five locks open.
The door swings wide.
A man stands in the hallway—tall, ancient-looking, with eyes that glow faintly in the darkness. He's not a student. He's something else. Something older. Stronger.
He looks right at me and smiles.
"Miss Blackwood," he says, his voice like silk and poison. "The Headmaster would like to see you. Now."