VERA
My blood went cold.
"How did they even get in? There are sensors everywhere." I whispered—the question more at myself than them.
I looked back at them. "Okay, but why hide here? You cornered yourselves."
Evan swallowed. "We're trained in medicine," he said quietly. "Not combat."
"And," Alisa added, "we're… not exactly PE standouts."
I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Right. Great. Just perfect."
I lowered my hand. "Have either of you seen Selene? I left for five minutes, and when I came back, she was gone."
They exchanged a look. Then Alisa's eyes widened slightly.
"On our way here," she said slowly, "I heard movement near the teachers' offices."
I nodded once. "I'm checking it out."
I turned toward the door. "You can stay here in this deathtrap, or you can follow me."
I didn't wait for an answer.
Footsteps scrambled behind me.
We moved quickly down the hall, every shadow stretching too long, every sound too loud. When we reached the corridor that branched toward the offices, I stopped.
"We split up," I said. "You two check the offices on that side. I'll take this one."
They hesitated—then nodded.
"If anything happens," I added, "yell."
I entered the first office.
Empty.
Second.
Empty.
The calm was suffocating.
By the time I reached the final office at the end of the hall, my grip on the flame was tight enough that sparks danced along my knuckles.
I stepped inside.
The floor creaked behind me.
I spun, fire flaring—
"Whoa—Vera, it's me."
Evan.
Relief hit hard and fast.
"We found her," he said. "But… she's burning up."
My heart dropped. "Where?"
He turned and ran. I followed.
We stopped at the counselor's office.
Alisa was kneeling beside Selene, her hands glowing a steady red as she worked. Selene lay motionless on the floor, skin flushed, breaths shallow.
I rushed forward, fingers pressing to Selene's wrist.
There it was.
A pulse.
I sagged with relief.
"Did either of you see anyone?" I asked sharply.
"No," Evan said. "We heard her groan. That's how we found her."
I nodded—then froze.
A dark violet band circled Selene's throat, faintly glowing beneath her skin. It wasn't a bruise—too precise, too intentional. Like something placed there rather than left behind.
"What's that?" I asked, brushing my fingers lightly over it.
The glow pulsed at my touch.
Alisa's brow furrowed. "I don't know. But it isn't natural."She hesitated before adding, "I think it's what's causing the fever."
My jaw tightened.
"I stabilized her temperature," she said quietly. "But I don't know how long it'll last."
"Come on," I said, crouching and lifting her onto my back. She was far too light. "I'll get you three somewhere safe."
We moved quickly through the corridors until I stopped outside a training room. Reinforced titanium doors—designed to withstand heavy combat. If anything would hold, it would be this.
The only problem was the massive ceiling-high window facing the hallway.
I guided Selene inside and set her down against the far wall. Her body slumped, chin falling forward as the violet band flickered once, then dimmed.
I turned to Alisa and Evan.
"You two stay here with her. I'll guard the door."
Evan spoke first. "Are you sure? The alert said—"
"I know what it said," I interrupted. "If we all hide in one room, we're all vulnerable. This way, it's just me."
He didn't argue, but I could see the doubt in his eyes.
"Lock the door behind me," I added. "If Selene's condition changes, tell me immediately."
I took one last look at her before turning away, pausing with my hand on the handle.
"If I get into a fight," I said, "don't make your presence known. Don't try to help. You'll only put yourselves in danger and you'd both only be liabilities."
With that, I stepped out and shut the door.
I settled against the wall outside, eyes drifting to the window. Anyone passing through the hall would immediately notice it.
With a slow exhale, I raised my hand. Purple light flickered between my fingers before spreading outward, washing over the glass. The surface shimmered, then dulled, reflecting nothing but an empty, unused room.
Minutes passed. Too slowly.
Then—
A soft creak echoed down the hall.
I looked up just as the air in front of me distorted, rippling unnaturally. Instinct took over. The floor flared with deep violet light as shadowed hands tore themselves upward, snapping shut around something invisible.
A body slammed into existence.
"So that's how you got past security," I muttered as the illusion collapsed.
He looked to be in his late twenties. Red hair, unkempt beard, eyes sharp despite the restraints pinning him in place. But my attention locked onto the band wrapped around his arm.
It was similar to the device Selene was wearing.
Same design.
Same glow.
"What's that?" I asked, nodding toward it.
He struggled violently against the shadows, teeth bared, ignoring the question entirely.
I stepped closer, fire blooming in my palm. Heat rolled through the corridor as the flames climbed higher.
"I believe I asked a question," I said, bringing the fire close to his face.
He laughed.
"You're already too late," he said, distracted at first, brows furrowing as the band around his arm pulsed sharply.
He stiffened, eyes narrowing.
"…Huh."
I didn't hesitate.
Shadows surged from the floor, twisting upward as fire snapped forward, scorching the air inches from him. The corridor shivered under the heat.
The band reacted instantly. Violet light flared violently, symbols along its surface pulsing in response to something nearby. A piercing tone split the air—Then it detonated.
The blast tore my restraints apart and hurled me backward. I skidded across the floor, barely catching myself against the wall.
When the smoke cleared, he was standing, breathing hard, eyes glowing with the same sick violet hue that ringed Selene's throat.
He stared at his arm, then slowly lifted his gaze to me. A grin stretched across his face—slow, deliberate, like he was savoring the moment.
"It felt it," he said, voice low and almost amused. "Another signal. Close. Very close."
He tilted his head, studying me carefully.
"And the way you froze just now?" he continued. "That tells me everything."
My blood ran cold.
"That one?" he added, glancing at the band on his arm. "Prototype. Unstable. Dangerous."
Then his eyes locked on mine.
"By the time you figure out what it is… it will be too late," he said, eyes glinting. "It's bonded."
"I guess the blondie is your friend," he said, voice low, almost amused. "She's the only one I've tagged so far."
He leaned slightly forward, savoring the tension."Try to stop me, and she pays the price. Try to save her… and I grow stronger with every move you make."
My chest tightened. One misstep, one reckless strike, and it wouldn't just be a fight—it would be a death sentence for her.
He lunged, fading in and out of view, shadows bending unnaturally around him as his invisibility flickered.
I moved to intercept, matching my shadows with his evasions, throwing bursts of purple energy to track his form.
The corridor shook under the force of our clash, shadows colliding, light and dark spinning in chaotic bursts. Each strike carried the weight of Selene's life; every misstep could trigger the bond's deadly consequences.
He vanished again.
I didn't follow.
Instead, I stopped.
The shadows around my feet stilled, then spread—not outward in pursuit, but inward, collapsing the space between us. The lights overhead dimmed as the darkness thickened, pooling along the floor, crawling up the walls.
He reappeared a few steps away, frowning.
"You're slowing down," he said, tilting his head. "That fear catching up to you?"
I raised my hand.
The shadows didn't lash out.
They closed.
They surged upward in a silent wave, swallowing the space around him before he could fade again. His invisibility flickered, then failed entirely as the darkness wrapped tight around his limbs, his torso, his throat.
He struggled—harder than before.
The shadows didn't tighten.
They sank.
Pulled him down, not crushing, not burning—just taking. His movements slowed, then dulled, like he was being dragged beneath deep water.
"What—" His voice cut off as the darkness crept over his mouth.
I stepped closer, watching as the violet glow from his band flared violently, then sputtered. It pulsed, searching.
Nothing answered.
"No signal," I said quietly. "Hard to draw strength when you can't move. Or see. Or touch."
His eyes widened.
The shadows swallowed him whole, sealing shut with a low, resonant hum. Not a grave.
A prison.
The corridor went still.
I stood there, shadows coiling back around my feet, the air still vibrating faintly from the clash. My chest heaved, each breath tasting of smoke and dust, the weight of it pressing down like stone.
He was alive.
And he wasn't going anywhere.
I exhaled, letting the tension leave me in a slow, shuddering sigh, and slumped against the door. My eyes closed briefly as I tried to catch my breath, letting the echoes of the fight fade into the dim corridor.
When I opened them, my gaze shot down the hall, and froze. A familiar figure stood there, framed by the pale emergency lights.
Calen.
How long had he been there? The unreadable set of his jaw and the steady calm in his stance told me it had been long enough. Long enough to watch, long enough to judge.
Neither of us spoke. The silence stretched, heavy and taut, broken only by the distant metallic groan of the building settling.
Then someone called out, sharp and familiar:"There you are! We're under lockdown—I swear, if you keep wandering off—"
The words died on his lips as he saw me.
"Vera," Rylan said, his voice cutting through the corridor like a blade as he hurried forward. The dim lights caught in his golden eyes, making them seem almost luminous in the gloom.
"You okay?" His gaze swept over me, noting the sweat streaks on my face, the scorch marks on my sleeves, the way my shoulders slumped under the invisible weight of the fight.
Calen appeared beside us without a sound, his movement precise, measured. "It's not her I'd be worried about," he muttered, eyes flicking toward the sealed shadows that still pulsed faintly along the corridor floor.
The three of us stood there in the half-light, the air thick with smoke, tension, and something heavier—expectation. For a moment, it felt like the world had contracted to just this corridor, this moment, the echoes of what had just happened still vibrating through the walls.