Blood Debt Academy

The room they gave me wasn't a cell.That was the first surprise.I'd expected dungeons. Stone walls and iron bars and maybe some medieval torture devices for atmosphere. Instead, I got a bedroom that looked like it belonged in a castle—because it did. Four-poster bed with dark velvet curtains. Tall windows with heavy drapes. Furniture that was probably older than my entire bloodline.And it was in the West Tower. I'd heard the guards whispering about it when they escorted me here, their voices dropping low like they were discussing a funeral. One of them had crossed himself. The other had walked three steps ahead, like he couldn't get away fast enough.I sat on the edge of the bed, still wearing that white ceremonial dress. My wrists throbbed where the chains had cut into them. Dried blood cracked when I flexed my fingers. I should probably clean the wounds. Find bandages. Do something.Instead, I just stared at my hands.They wouldn't stop shaking. I pressed them flat against my thi

Raven carried me to the infirmary.I tried to tell him I could walk, but my legs wouldn't cooperate. Everything was still spinning—the colors, the auras, the death omens pulsing above people's heads like ticking clocks.The infirmary was quiet. White walls. Sterile smell. Rows of beds with crisp sheets. A woman with silver-streaked hair looked up from her desk as Raven pushed through the door."Combat training casualty?" she asked, not sounding surprised."Something like that." Raven set me down on the nearest bed. His hands were gentle, but I could feel tension radiating off him in waves. "Check her shoulders. Elena got her claws in."The woman—the nurse, I assumed—came over and pulled my collar aside. Her fingers were cool against my skin. "Not too deep. I'll clean them and bandage them up." She paused, looking at my face. "You're pale. Are you dizzy? Nauseous?""Both," I whispered. The auras were everywhere. Even she had one—soft blue with gray threads running through it. Tired. Sa

Raven left after making me promise to lock the door.I promised. Then I lay on the infirmary bed staring at the ceiling, watching the death omens pulse in my vision even when I closed my eyes. Sleep was impossible. Every time I started to drift off, I'd see that ghost's hollow eyes. Hear her whisper. He killed me.Who was "he"? Caspian? Someone else?And why did it matter to me so much?By the time morning came—or what passed for morning in this place of eternal twilight—my eyes burned and my head pounded like someone was using my skull as a drum.Mira appeared at the door with a tray of food and a concerned expression. "Miss Sera, you have Vampire History in thirty minutes. Are you well enough to attend?""Do I have a choice?""Not really, no." Mira set the tray down and wrung her hands together. "Miss Kaine sent word. She said if you miss another class, there will be... consequences."Of course there would be. I dragged myself out of bed, my muscles aching from yesterday's beating.

"Don't move." Caspian's hand shot out, gripping my arm so tight it hurt. "Don't say anything. Don't even breathe too loud."But I couldn't stop staring. Seven bodies. Seven students who'd been alive this morning, and now they were just... gone. Their auras had faded to nothing, leaving only those gray death omens hovering like ghosts over their corpses.And Elysia stood in the middle of it all, blood dripping from her hands onto the stone courtyard. Her emerald dress was ruined, soaked through with red. But her face—her face was calm. Almost serene."What happened here?" Caspian's voice rang out across the courtyard. He'd shifted into prince mode, all authority and cold command. But I could feel his hand trembling slightly where it gripped my arm.Elysia looked at him. Really looked at him, and something flickered across her perfect face. Grief? Regret? It was there and gone too fast for me to catch."They were dying anyway," she said. Her voice was steady. Too steady. "The curse was

Raven brought me to his quarters in the West Tower—three floors below mine, in a room that looked like it had been forgotten by the rest of the academy.The walls were bare stone, no tapestries or decorations. A single bed with gray sheets. A desk covered in weapons—daggers, stakes, crossbow bolts. And in the corner, a worn leather bag that looked ready to grab and run at a moment's notice."You live like you're always about to leave," I said. My voice still sounded raw, scraped thin."Because I am." Raven locked the door behind us and checked the window—already barred from the outside. "I've been ready to run from this place since the day I arrived. The only reason I've stayed this long is..." He stopped. Turned away. "Doesn't matter."But through the bond, I felt a flutter of something from Caspian. A flash of knowing, like he'd just understood something important.I pressed my bandaged palm against my chest, trying to muffle the sensation. "How long have you been here? At the acade