Novels by ARI✨✨

Julianna POVThe day after the mist, the school held a mandatory session for those most affected.Inside the compact auditorium, space was tight but sufficient for those most affected. I sat there with Lily, then Scott, followed by Solara, Lyra, Lila, Kaid, Elias - names ticking off like steps down a narrow hall. A few more filled out the circle, people yanked far into the dream realm during the incident. At the front, Dr. Hale held stillness like weight, grounding the room without effort. To the edge, Principal Johnson remained seated apart, eyes moving slow across every face.Heavy silence filled the space. Quiet pressed down like a weight.Someone had to start, but nobody moved forward.Patience sat heavy on Dr. Hale as we stood in silence. A long pause passed before Scott shifted, voice cracking like he’d forgotten how to speak. His attempt at humor landed flat, hanging awkwardly in the air.“So… anyone else dream about their family thro

Julianna POVWhat caught my attention right away? The quiet. It wasn’t just still - it felt heavy, like air before a storm.It wasn’t that thick, airless quiet from dreams. Just the usual hush. The school stirring slowly, like it had been off somewhere strange all night. A low sound crept through the halls - morning finding its way back.Outside the principal’s door, I paused, breath uneven from what had just played out behind my eyelids. Gone now - the dark fog that clung so close before. Lighter somehow, the space around me, nearly ordinary, yet tinged with something sharp on the tongue, like old coins left too long in a pocket.Students were stirring everywhere.One by one, students lifted themselves, hands dragging across their faces as though shaking off a dream too heavy to carry. Around them, glances darted left and right, questions slipping out in hushed tones that curled through the air. By the water's edge, a young woman flinched at each blink, tears forming only after recog

Julianna POVDown in the cave beneath the waves, I waited beside Selene. The walls shimmered like her old bedroom did. Silence filled the corners where laughter once sat. We didn’t speak, just existed together in that quiet glow.The water sat thick and black all around. Huddled tight in the corner, Selene stayed silent except for her murmurs - those quiet phrases she kept repeating without pause“It’s all a dream… it’s all a dream…”Back against the cold stone, I stayed curled up, eyes fixed on the cavern face. Now and then, its surface rippled - like still water touched by wind - flashing pieces of dreams gone wrong.That scream from Scott still echoes - flames eating everything he loved. Tears cut through Lila’s fingers after spells went wrong, leaving silence behind. Lyra hung there, veins pulled open by kin who spat shame like truth. Elias chewed without hunger, saltwater mixing with what remained of them.Each attempt to touch them slipped into nothing, fingers moving through ai

Lily POVBehind me stayed Julianna, and then Selene, deep inside that cave. I didn’t look back. Thinking about them would’ve slowed me down too much. With each passing moment, the dark figure grew tougher. Fear was its fuel, drawn from everyone nearby. A presence pressed against my mind. Up above, in the twisted copy of our school, it waited.Up I swam. Through black water I broke. Hallways of Paranormal High opened around meor the dream version at least. Slowly the walls shifted. From locker seams, liquid oozed. Copper. Ozone. That was the smell on my tongue.Footsteps didn’t echo - just a hush when I touched down. Around my fingers, light began to twist without asking. Shapes like crushed stars formed, deep purple and quiet.The space where it had stood now held nothing. Down the passage, silence took over.Something felt off.Stillness pressed hard against the ears. Not a breath of wind stirred the fog.Something shifted insi

Julianna POVAbove my eyes, darkness stretched without edge. My arms drifted slow through empty air. Nothing touched me anywhere. The silence pressed close. I could not tell which way was down.Above me, nothing. Below, also gone - just white, everywhere, too bright to bear. Heavy air clung like wet cloth on my arms. Weightless, I hung without up or down. Then came the floating, pulse loud in my ears, mind scrambling for answers.What stuck in my mind most was that dark fog moving closer - chilly, thick, pressing down - just moments after we unlocked Selene’s door.“Hello?” The sound of my voice felt thin, bouncing back at me through the still air. Nobody answered. Just silence sat there, heavy. I tried again - could hear it stretch into nothingNo response.One shaky step came after another. Beneath my shoes, a firm surface appeared - yet the ground didn’t seem real. Endless white spilled out ahead. Walls were missing. The edge of sight was gone. Empty space filled every direction.T

Cameron POVI woke up in the middle of Professor Elowen’s strategy class.A sharp tang of aged paper hung in the air, mixed with something electric - leftover traces of mana lingered still buzzing under layers of chalk residue. Light poured sideways through high panes, setting tiny specks glowing like sparks caught mid-fall. Nothing seemed out of place. Not a single thing felt wrong.Finding my spot by the window, I flipped the notebook wide, fingers curled around the pen. Up near the chalkboard, Kaid moved fast beside Lily, sketching shapes that tangled into plans most could not follow. Leaning close to the plaster, Scott held still, one brow lifted after a quiet word from Lila. Everyone else stayed silent, gazes fixed where power usually spoke first.From the chalkboard, Professor Elowen shifted her weight. She faced away slowly.“Cameron,” she said, voice calm and expectant. “Simple question. If a phoenix is cornered by t

Ethan's POVDown the stairs I went, boots dragging slow, every thud echoing how far she now seemed. Distance grew without a word, just the weight of leaving her there among the potted herbs and fading light.Darkness now covered the sky, stars sprinkled across it like salt after the sun slipped behind the cliffs. Not even the chill of evening could quiet what burned beneath my ribs. His voice kept returning - Sam’s voice - not softening with time, but sharper, each syllable digging deeper.“I can’t. Not yet.”“The contract was my safety net.”“I’m terrified that if I say yes… I’ll wake up one day and find myself alone again.”On my knees, I showed her everything - every part of me, stripped clean. Pride was gone. My words were only about love, nothing else. Not the deal. Never the business. Her. That is what mattered. The way she stands tall. How she thinks. The calm fire inside her. Paper meant nothing then. I said I would burn it if needed

Sam's POVOut there, the last light bled into shadows - soft pink smudges clinging beside bruised purple trails. Up on the roof, where flowers used to breathe calm, air thickened as if standing too close to a fall.Down he stayed, one knee pressing into the floor, fingers curled around mine as if I might vanish. Not a whisper broke the silence after he spoke - just truth, bare and heavy, left trembling in the space where words had been.“I love you… Stay. Choose me.”Water spilled from my eyes, sudden, impossible to hold back. A strange lift tugged inside my chest even as old burdens pressed hard - his voice had lit something while shadows stayed rooted deep.Back pressed against cold stone, fingers curling at my sides. Space between us grew, quiet but sharp. Needed it that way. Had to breathe alone before words slipped out too fast. Before wanting won over sense.“Ethan…” My voice cracked. “I can’t. Not yet.”A sharp ache crossed his

Ethan's POVGolden hush settled over the rooftop garden as day slipped away. Sunset painted everything quiet.Purpose led me to bring Sam here - far from bolted exits, distant from prowling guards, removed from the heavy silence that followed every secret we kept. Above the mansion it rested, this garden perched on its tallest ledge, facing sheer drops and water stretching without end. Trellises wore roses like shawls, colors softened by dusk into warm blushes and pale amber. Air moved slow through leaves, bringing sharp sea air mixed with perfume from open blossoms.Out by the old stone rail, Sam waited. Wind tugged at her unstyled hair while sunset burned behind her like a slow match. A plain cream sweater hung on her frame, paired with black pants that didn’t shout for attention. Not dressed for ceremony. Not braced for battle either. Only there, present, fragile in ways you noticed if you looked past the quiet stance - shoulders tight with something older th

Gwen's POVOnce grand, the hotel room now seemed dull. Stillness hung where sparkle used to live.Darkness pressed in. Cold stone swallowed sound. Silence hung heavy, thick as dust.Perched on the wide mattress, chaos pressed in from every side - papers everywhere, glass shards near spilled wine, remnants of rage still warm. Gone now, that polished look everyone used to praise. Strands knotted at the nape, cheeks streaked and puffy, fabric of an expensive gown crumpled under fingerprints and tears. Across from me, the full-length glass gave back someone unfamiliar: hollowed out, trembling, filled with fury sharp enough to eat through bone.Broke.Isolated.Cornered.The words repeated in my head like a death sentence.Frozen bank accounts. Silent phones. Empty calendar. Reporters who used to chase me wouldn’t answer anymore. Ethan erased every trace - paperwork, money, even shared friends. That last name I fought so hard to cla

Ethan's POVFalling onto my desk, the reports came without noise, just weight.From my desk at home, sunlight spilled across the floor when the assistant set down fresh documents without a word. Where Gwen used to be listed as top adviser on partnerships, her name now disappeared piece by piece. Positions she shaped behind closed doors emptied suddenly, no reasons given. Money slipped away from her favorite initiatives - three of them - all pulled back in silence, yet clear enough.I didn’t intervene.I didn’t have to.The way it fell apart felt inevitable, almost as if the whole thing had been waiting to give in. Rumors slipped into quiet dinners among powerful families - Gwen barred from the property, guards failing their posts, hints she’d played a role in things better left unnamed. Those who sensed shifts early began stepping back, slowly. Being near her now carried risks few cared to take.That afternoon, the call came straight from so

Sam's POVQuiet moments often carry sharper teeth. Stillness can echo louder than shouts ever do.It gets still. Like cutting through bone. One by one the supports vanish - pulled away so gently you barely notice - until nothing remains but bare ground where someone used to stand.Just like that, my actions mirrored what I’d done to Gwen. How strange it feels now, looking back. The moment repeated itself without warning. It happened again, just as before. Not different at all, really. Same steps. Same result.Before sunrise, I sat at the desk in the study, typing quietly as Ethan stayed curled under his blankets. Silence hung across the property like a held breath. My laptop glowed with files locked behind layers of code. Sending everything? Never an option. Instead, pieces slipped out - just enough. One document showing mismatched numbers. Then, a note passed through shadows suggesting deals gone crooked. Later, a hint about money hidden beyond borders,