POV: Rory Hale

I forced a smile. “Nothing. I’ve never even met him.”

“Then why did he say it’s you?”

I had no answer. Only the echo of his voice, creeping under my skin.

The class began, words streaming from him at a lovely pace, but I couldn’t focus. Every time he moved, every time his shadow crossed the room, my body tightened.

When he posed a question, I didn’t hear it. Until his voice snapped like thunder.

“Rory Hale. Answer.”

My head jolted up. The entire class stared.

“I… I don’t know the question.”

His lips curved, but it wasn’t kind. “That’s because you weren’t listening. Distracted, are you?”

A bitter laugh spread from the back row. Darius’s voice. “Maybe she’s just too human to keep up.”

Heat climbed up my neck, but before I could reply, Professor Ward’s tone slashed through the room like a razor.

“Silence.”

Even Darius shut up.

Ward’s gaze returned to me, softer now. “Don’t let them pull you under, Miss Hale. You’ll drown faster than you think.”

My heart thudded painfully. Why did his remarks feel less like advice… and more like a warning?

Students streamed out, leaving me alone with him. I put books into my bag, wanting to escape, but his voice froze me.

“Stay.”

I turned slowly. He was still at the desk, watching me. Too intently.

“Professor, if I”

He lifted a hand, stopping me. His eyes searched for me, angry and almost… desperate.

“You shouldn’t be here.”

I blinked. “Excuse me?”

His jaw stiffened. “This place will eat you alive. You’re not safe.”

“I didn’t exactly choose to come,” I snapped. My voice shook, but I couldn’t stop. “They dragged me here. Everyone treats me like prey. Like I’m some freak they can watch burn.”

He came closer, shadows wrapping at his heels. “You didn’t burn.”

The words lodged in my chest. My breath hitched. “How do you know about that?”

“I know more than you think.” His tone was gentle, but it stung deep. “I saw it in your eyes the moment I walked in. Fire bends to you. That makes you dangerous. To yourself. And to everyone here.”

Dangerous.

The word stuck to me like poison and promise all at once.

“Why do you care?” I whispered.

His countenance flickered pain, longing, sorrow all in one heartbeat before his mask slammed back in place.

“I don’t,” he responded coldly. “I just don’t want another corpse in my class.”

The falsehood tasted harsh in the air. I could feel it.

And I hated that it made my chest ache.

That night, the dream began.

I was standing in the same classroom, vacant this time, moonlight pouring through huge windows. And he was there.

Ward.

No coat. No mask. Just him, closer than ever, his eyes storming gray but softened by something I couldn’t name.

He touched my face, slow and reverent. My breath caught fire.

“You don’t understand,” he muttered. “You’ve been mine from the start.”

His lips brushed mine. Warm. Forbidden. Too much.

The kiss was lightning, breaking me open. My knees trembled, but his arms held me steady, pushing me closer till I couldn’t tell where I ended and he began.

“Why?” I muttered to him. “Why me?”

His voice cracked. “Because you’re the only one I could never save.”

Pain rushed across my chest.

I gasped and looked down. Blood erupted across my shirt, hot and heavy. My hands shook as I touched the wound that wasn’t there before.

He was still holding me. Still talking against my flesh.

And I was bleeding.

I yelled.

And woke up in my bed.

Sweat swamped me, my sheets knotted tight.

But the worst part

My hands were still coated with blood.

Maya stirred from her bed across the room. “Rory? What the hell are you okay?”

I shoved the sheets aside, my breath ragged. “I… I don’t know. It was a dream. It was simply a dream.”

She sat up, squinting at me. “Dreams don’t make you bleed.”

I looked down again. The blood hadn’t faded. It glistened in the moonlight, new and terrifying.

And it was mine.

The door to our room creaked open. A big shadow filled the scene. Gray eyes glittered in the dark.

Professor Ward’s voice was low, broken.

“You weren’t supposed to remember.”

The library was too quiet.

Not pleasant stillness/wrong quiet. Like the universe was holding its breath, waiting for me to take one step too far.

I tightened my grasp on the candle lantern and murmured to myself, “Just get the book and leave. Easy.”

But nothing at Obsidian Academy was easy.

The shelves loomed like black towers around me, shadows twisting down the aisles. Dust swirled in the dim light, thick enough to choke. My footfall echoed too loudly on the stone floor, reminding me I was alone or so I thought.

When the voice came, it slithered over my flesh.

“Rory…”

My body froze. “Who’s there?”

No answer. Only the quiet scrape of nails against stone.

I gulped hard and turned the lantern, the light shaking with my palm. That’s when I saw a figure too tall, too twisted to be human, eyes burning like embers in the dark.

The shadow lunged

I yelled, staggering back. Books toppled as I hurried down the aisle. The thing moved faster, its body bending oddly, all smoke and bone.