By the time my third and final class of the day ended, my head should’ve been aching from all the information crammed into it. Instead, I felt… alive. Every word, every sentence the lecturers had spoken was as though it had carved itself into my brain, permanent and unshakable. When the others shuffled their papers and groaned about assignments, I sat there almost glowing with the strange certainty that I could recall every detail, down to the tone of the lecturer’s voice.As I packed my bag, Eryndra’s voice slid softly through my mind, steady and measured as always.“Do you know why you’ve remembered every single event that has happened in your life since the day Elena found you?”The question startled me so much that I nearly dropped my bag. I swallowed, lowering my gaze so no one could see how rattled I was. “No,” I murmured under my breath as I slipped out of the classroom. “I don’t know.”The campus corridors were full of chattering students, but for me, their voices blurred into
The sharp trill of the campus bell echoed through the hallway, a reminder that the day was truly beginning. I rubbed down my simple shirt nervously, holding the notebook Marcus had insisted I carry. It wasn’t much compared to the shiny supplies I’d seen Jeile unpack yesterday, but it was mine, and somehow, that made it enough.The classroom was already half full when I stepped inside. Rows of sleek wooden desks faced a broad chalkboard at the front. The hum of chatter buzzed in the air, light laughter mixed with the squeak of chairs against the tiled floor. Some students leaned close to their friends, whispering about assignments or gossip; others scrolled through glowing screens.I chose a seat near the window, not too close to the front where attention might single me out, and not too far back where I might look like I was trying to hide. The early morning sunlight spilled through the glass, painting warm stripes across the desk. I inhaled deeply, steadying my nerves.A few students
It took me a while to sleep that night, my body wasn’t used to the room yet and honestly Jeile on the other end of the room kept sighing and tossing around dramatically. Aside all that my mind kept wandering around restlessly, and when I finally drifted off to sleep it wasn’t peaceful and quiet.I had a dream. A weird oneThe dream opened around me like some theater stage. I was in my old cottage and it was thick with fog, swirling silver and ash, carrying the scent of earth and pine. At first, I thought I was alone. My feet pressed into the soil, damp and cold, but the air vibrated with a presence I couldn’t name. Then a voice cut through the fog, it was soft yet commanding.“Lila.”I turned and there she was.Elena.She looked a little bit different, it was a lot even. Her hair glowed as if it caught moonlight even here, her figure serene yet weighted with sorrow. The same Elena who once guided me, and who whispered truths into my confusion. My chest tightened at the sight of her.
Marcus stirred the pot slowly whilst I sat on the dining seat watching the steam rise, the scent of the spice filled the air of the kitchen.Watching Marcus cook has turned into one of my favorite human activities, I wanted to learn how to. I loved how they chopped the vegetables, the sound of soup boiling, and even the way oil hissed on the pan.I was thinking about cooking, not noticing that Marcus had already sat down in front of time now, and for a long time none of us spoke, it was just the soft sound of soup filling the quiet. But Marcus finally broke it.“So,” He said slowly, “you meant what you said earlier? Wanting me to train you?”I glanced at him, playing with the dining mat. “ Yes Sir Marcus, I’m tired of being helpless and weak. Every time something happens to me, I’m either running or being dragged and I no longer want that.”He watched me quietly for a while, “Training is not a game, Lila. It’s filled with a lot of discipline, injuries, sweats and most of the time pai
The days had gone by slowly since Marcus suggested I go to the university, the cheque still sat untouched in a locked drawer in the guest room. Marcus, however, wasted no time. He moved with a restless determination, he was always making calls, meeting people, pulling favors in places I didn’t even know existed. And now, here we were, walking side by side toward the wide, gleaming gates of Oregon University.The campus was bigger than anything I had ever seen. Tall glass buildings reflected the morning sun, their windows facades decorated with banners about innovation and progress. Students streamed in and out, laughing, talking, carrying books or tapping on sleek tablets. Their voices overlapped in a rush of accents and slang I still struggled to piece together.I hugged my borrowed bag closer to my chest, nerves twisting my stomach into knots. “Marcus,” I whispered, “this feels… too much. Are you sure I can do this? What if they find out I’m not….”“You’re Lila Riles now,” he inter
The silence between us stretched thin, with only the ticking of the clock on the wall filling the space. I still had the cheque in my hand, my name written across it.“Sir Marcus,” I whispered, my voice trembling, “what exactly happened that day? Why did you come home looking like you’d seen a ghost?”He leaned back in the chair, the wood groaning under his weight, his gaze shifting to the window as though he couldn’t bear to look at me. For a long moment, he said nothing, and I thought he wasn’t going to answer. But then his hands clenched into fists, his knuckles pale.“They came to me,” he finally muttered, his voice low and heavy.“Who?” My voice cracked.“The people I used to work for,” he said, spitting the words out like venom. His jaw tightened, eyes dark. “The same ones I told you about, the ones I hunted supernaturals for. Government-backed. Cold and Ruthless.” He paused, dragging a hand down his face. “They know about you, Lila. They’ve been tracking y