The ferry docked at the pier like a ghost returning from exile. Its polished metal hull gleamed under the pale morning sun, reflecting the choppy waters and the restless excitement of the students boarding. Their chatter filled the air—light, oblivious, and maddeningly joyful.
"I can't wait to tell everyone how perfect Oscar's Academy is," a girl with a sleek designer coat gushed to her friend, flicking her glossy hair over her shoulder.
Cora clenched her fists so tightly her nails dug crescent moons into her palms.
Perfect? Was that what they thought?
Their memories had been wiped clean—scrubbed like fingerprints from a crime scene. Now all they remembered were curated fragments of joy. Smiles. Laughter. Fake friendships. Not the shadows that had slithered through the walls of Oscar's. Not the blood. Not the truth.
And definitely not Damien.
Her chest tightened.
He wasn't here.
Students bustled past her and Amelia as they stepped aboard the ferry. Amelia looked over her shoulder at the university. Its towering spires and marble halls now looked deserted, cloaked in a haunting stillness that didn't suit its once intimidating grandeur.
"I was excited when we came here," Amelia whispered beside her. "Now... I just want to leave."
Cora's phone felt cold in her hand as she pulled it out and texted Damien again.
Nothing.
Not even the little "delivered" check mark.
She scanned the crowd once more from the railing of the ferry, her heart pounding with stubborn hope. But there was no sign of him. Not a single glimpse of obsidian hair or that arrogant smirk he wore like armor.
Where are you, Damien?
She sighed and followed Amelia to a bench on the deck. The chill in the wind bit into her, but it wasn't the cold that made her shiver.
"About what you saw the other night—" she began, her voice low.
"Can I sit here?"
The interruption came from a girl with short-cropped curls and an oddly familiar gaze. Her voice was light, almost too polite.
Cora blinked at her, startled. Most students avoided her like she carried a disease. She nodded wordlessly.
"I'm Cecily," the girl said, sliding into the seat beside her with a breezy smile.
"Cora," she replied after a pause, her tone more wary than welcoming.
Amelia's brows drew together in a subtle frown as she turned to study the girl.
The ferry horn groaned, and the vessel lurched forward. Water churned behind them as the school—Oscar's Academy, that cursed cage of secrets—began to disappear into the mist.
Cora kept her eyes on it, even as it shrank into the distance.
"Did you forget something?" Cecily asked, tilting her head.
Cora turned slowly, meeting her gaze. "No."
"Mm." Cecily smiled again, but something about it made Cora's spine tense. "You just looked like you were leaving a part of yourself behind."
Meanwhile, back in Oscar's…
Damien stood in the center of his room like a god caged in flesh, his eyes burning crimson, his fangs bared. His breathing was ragged, fury seething beneath his skin like molten fire.
Maximilian and Leonard burst through the door, stopping short at the sight.
"Shit," Maximilian muttered. "What the hell happened?"
Damien raked a hand through his dark hair, pacing like a panther starved of blood. "Someone drugged me."
His voice was lethal. Smooth as glass, sharp as daggers.
"There was something mixed into my drink. Just enough to make me very thirsty. Not kill me , just… delay me."
Damien wiped blood from his lips dropping someone on the floor.
Leonard's eyes widened. "To stop you from boarding the ferry."
"Exactly." Damien's grin was slow and venomous. "Someone tried to play me. To get Cora alone on the ferry—."
He turned on Leonard with a suddenness that made the man stiffen. "Go. Get on that ferry. Watch Cora. Protect her. If anything happens to her—"
"She's your mate," Leonard said quickly, already turning on his heel. "I know."
"Good."
Damien's eyes gleamed with a smug gleam, something between a promise and a threat. "Because if she bleeds... the world burns."
Back on the ferry…
Cora dialed again, gripping her phone like it might shatter. The line rang once. Twice.
Voicemail.
She cursed under her breath.
Then her phone rang, and hope exploded in her chest.
Damien.
But the screen read Mother.
Cora hesitated, then answered. "Mother—"
The line cut off.
Static. Nothing more.
Cora froze, her skin crawling. Her hand trembled slightly as she lowered the phone. What was happening?
Why now?
Why her?
Amelia noticed her pale expression. "Cora?"
"I don't know," Cora whispered. "Something's wrong."
Meanwhile, in the city…
Evelyn's home, usually neat and clinical, now pulsed with unease. The lights flickered, and the air had turned thick and heavy.
Evelyn stood in the foyer, trembling. Her phone had just been yanked from her hands, the call cut off before she could warn her daughter.
Across from her stood a woman cloaked in black, her hood now down.
"You shouldn't have defied me," the woman purred, stepping closer.
"You had no right to barge into my house!" Evelyn snapped, trying to summon courage she didn't feel.
"Oh, Evelyn," the woman laughed, low and cruel. "I gave you a simple task. Give Cora the vial. And instead, you tried to run. Hide her. Keep her from me."
Evelyn took a step back. "Whatever you're doing—whatever that thing was—it's dangerous. I won't let you use her."
The woman's grin widened.
Golden scales shimmered along her hands as her nails grew into talons. Her eyes burned with something unearthly. Not rage—amusement.
"Too late."
Before Evelyn could scream, the woman lunged, slicing her claws into Evelyn's neck. Blood trickled down her skin, warm and slow.
"What... are you?" Evelyn choked.
The woman leaned in, her voice a whisper soaked in wickedness. "Let me tell you a secret, Evelyn…"
She smiled as her fingers dug deeper.
"Cora... is my daughter."
Evelyn's eyes widened in shock. "N-no…"
Before the final blow could land, there was a knock at the door. Voices outside.
The woman hissed, retracting her claws and pulling her hood back over her head.
She turned, calm and composed, and slipped out the back door.
Evelyn collapsed onto the cold marble floor, blood soaking her collar. Her breaths were shallow. Weak.
"Cora…" she rasped, her voice fading into silence.
Back on the ferry…
Cora sat in silence, staring down at her phone. She could feel something clawing inside her. A terrible, suffocating dread. And though the sun was high in the sky, she felt like shadows were already descending.
Damien… please be okay.
And wherever you are… please come for me.