---
𪡠LYRA đŞˇ
The next morning already felt wrong from the moment Lyra stepped out of the dorm.
She walked beside Sienna, their shoulders almost touching, but it didn't matter.
Eyes followed her, not just curious glances but lingering ones. Some students didn't even bother pretending. They stared openly, whispering to each other as she passed.
"There she is."
"That's her."
"She really thinks she's special."
Lyra's grip tightened around her books. Her steps slowed without her meaning to.
"New girl thinks she can climb that fast?" Someone laughed from behind them.
"Don't listen to them," Sienna muttered, leaning closer. "Keep moving."
Lyra nodded, but her chest felt tight. Every corner they turned, more whispers erupted. A few people didn't even lower their voices anymore.
By the time they reached the main corridor, three girls stepped directly into their path.
They were all dressed perfectly pressed uniforms, polished shoes, hair flawless in that deliberate way Lyra was starting to recognize.
One of them folded her arms. "So this is her?"
"She doesn't even look like anything special." Another tilted her head, eyes scanning Lyra like she was something unpleasant.
"What's your relationship with Xavier?" One stepped closer.
Sienna stepped forward. "Back off."
"Excuse me?"
"She didn't do anything," Sienna snapped. "So take your jealousy somewhere else."
The first girl's eyes flicked to Sienna, then narrowed. "And who are you supposed to be? Her bodyguard?"
"Sure. At least I'm not pathetic enough to harass someone over a picture."
"Watch your mouth," the girl frowned with a hiss.
"Or what?" Sienna replied. "You'll cry about it on the feed?"
"Trash sticks with trash," the girl said coolly. "Makes sense. I'm going to have to warn you. Stay away from-"
Lyra barely had time to react when Sienna moved. She grabbed the girl's hair and yanked it hard.
The hallway erupted in gasps and shouts as the girl screamed, clawing back.
"Sienna!" Lyra shouted, panic flooding her.
---
The director's office was cold. Lyra sat stiffly in her chair, hands folded tightly in her lap. Sienna sat beside her, jaw clenched, eyes burning with barely contained anger. Across from them, the three girls sat in perfect, offended silence.
The director stood behind his desk, fingers pressed against the wood as he sighed heavily.
"Explain," he said.
"She attacked us." One of the girls spoke immediately.
Sienna scoffed. "You insulted her first."
"Enough." The director held up a hand, his gaze swept across them. "Do you all understand how ridiculous this looks?"
No one answered. He picked up his tablet, tapping the screen once before turning it so they could see.
"Is this," he asked sharply, "the cause of this nonsense?" The picture. "You are not children. This is an academy, not a playground. Fighting over a boy-"
"It's not like that," Lyra said suddenly, her voice trembling. "It wasn't inten-"
"Intent doesn't erase consequences. You all will stay after school hours and do the Janitor's work."
"But sir-" the girls eyes widened in disbelief.
"Did I stutter?"
Lyra felt the hair on her arm stand, a sudden cold swept the room. The air along the right side of the room felt⌠wrong.
Then she heard a soft and uneven sound.
"La...la...la..."
Lyra's head turned before she could stop herself. A girl stood near the wall, she hadn't been there before.
Her uniform was unmistakably Ravencrest's, but older, the fabric dull and worn, the crest slightly faded. Her hair hung loose, dark and lifeless, brushing her shoulders without moving.
"La⌠la⌠laâŚ"
Her feet tapped slowly against the ground, though no sound came from them. Tap. Tap. Tap.
The girl's eyes lifted and locked onto Lyra's. Lyra's heart slammed violently against her ribs.
Then the girl tilted her head, way too far. Her neck bent at an unnatural angle that made Lyra's stomach twist, bone shifting with a faint, wet sound.
Lyra gasped. Loud enough that Sienna heard her.
"Lyra?" Sienna whispered. "You okay?"
"I-" Lyra swallowed hard. "Yeah. I just-" She turned back toward the wall but it was empty.
Lyra's hands shook as she pressed them into her lap, nails digging into her palms to steady herself.
---
đˇď¸ KIERAN đˇď¸
Kieran leaned back against the wall, arms crossed, his phone resting loosely in one hand. Adrian was sprawled on the couch, thumbs flying across the screen as he played some ridiculous game.
Marcus opened the fridge with a faint hiss of cold air, sliding a bag of blood from it.
The red liquid sloshed inside the transparent bag. He sipped slowly, eyes closing for a moment in satisfaction.
"Have you guys⌠opened the academy's feed lately?" he asked casually.
Adrian didn't look up from his phone. "The feed? What about it?"
Marcus set the bag down on the counter, tilting his head toward the screen. "There's⌠Xavier. And some girl."
"Xavier and some girl? That's new."
He swiped out the game, opening the feed on his phone. His eyes flicked over the posts, then widened.
"Lyra?" He whispered under his breath.
Kieran glanced at Marcus first, then at Adrian. He unlocked his own phone, opening the same feed. His fingers clenched around it, and he barely noticed.
"The girl's not gonna have it easy. Humans⌠petty little things. They'll make a mountain out of a molehill just because she got that close to Xavier. She won't last a day before someone decides she's a problem. The kind of problem that doesn't end well."
Kieran locked his screen and stared at the blank phone for a long moment.
"Fuck, this is bad." Adrian rose from the couch.
"Why are you so worked up? Give it a day, they'll get bored." Marcus shrugged.
"They won't get bored. Not when it's a newbie with no backing."
Marcus tilted his head at Adrian. "You sound invested."
"I'm being realistic."
"Maybe you're right, you know how this place works. Rumors turn into dares and dares turn into accidents."
"You saying someone's gonna hurt her?"
"She's already being targeted," Marcus drank it down to the last drop and tossed the empty bag away. "Some chicks confronted her earlier this morning, they got into a fight and ended up in Sebastian's office."
Adrian grabbed his jacket from the chair and shrugged it on.
Marcus raised a brow. "And where exactly are you going?"
"To...get my share. Kieran's not gonna let me get another bag. Be right back." The door shut behind him before Marcus could ask more.
Kieran's finger drummed slowly against the couch and he smiled. A smile that didn't reach his eyes, rather sharp and wicked.