Another day without him. Another city without him. I miss him so much... sometimes I wish it was me instead. After the sudden death of her father, nineteen-year-old Jessica Mia Jones moves to a quiet new town with her cold-hearted stepmother; all she wants is to survive the grief and stay out of trouble. But this town hides secrets—dangerous ones. First, Mia finds out she’s adopted. Then, she discovers her new crush isn’t entirely human. And worst of all? Neither is she. As strange abilities awaken and nightmares become reality, Mia is forced to question everything about who—and what—she really is. In a town where nothing is what it seems, can she uncover the truth before it’s too late?
View MoreMia's Pov:
Two months ago, he died. It's been two months since I've slept peacefully. I see him when I close my eyes. My dreams have transformed into nightmares. He was the one who understood me. The one who was there for me. Now, he's gone. Who do I have left? Who do I matter too? I have nothing.
My stepmother and I recently moved to this new city. I'll be starting college today. It's been a hustle. Losing my father hasn't been the easiest to get used to.
~*~*~*~
I get dressed and go downstairs, into the kitchen.
"Morning, honey," I hear her say.
"Morning, mom," I replied to her. We're close. My biological mom left when I was young. My stepmom has been the only mom I've known.
"Are you ready for your first day of school?"
"Ugh, no, mom. Do I have to go?"
"Yes, sweetie. I'm not going to be here when you get back from school. I'm working late," she announces. Again like always.
"Okay, mom. See you whenever I do."
~*~*~*~
Once I was out of my car, everyone stopped and stared. I walk to the school door when I hear the whispers here and there. I feel like I'm walking into the lion's den. I step inside, hoping to find my way to the student's registration desk when I hit a wall. I'm about to hit the floor when I feel somebody catch me. When I look up I see the most beautiful blue eyes I have ever seen in my life. They're deep; it's like looking into the ocean. The man who's got them is hot. I don't realize how long I've been staring until I hear him clear his throat.
"Hmm, sorry," I mumble.
"No, it's okay. Next time, watch where you are going, cutie," he winks.
I feel myself blushing hot red. Surely, I must look like a tomato.
"Oh, um, hi. Would you be able to point me towards the registration desk?"
"Of course, my sister comes to this school. I can take you there. Let's go, he says.
On our way to the office, I feel like people are looking at me. When I look up some boys are looking at me like I'm their next meal. Thank God, not everyone is looking at me. I don't like to be the center of attention.
"Here we are, cutie pie."
Now, for sure, I look like a tomato.
"Thank you..."
"Damian Gray. Nice to meet you," he extends his hand to me. "You are?".
"Jessica Jones, nice to meet you," I replied.
"I will see you later, cutie," Damien says.
I made my way towards the desk.
"Hi, my name is Jessica Jones. I was hoping to get a new copy of my class schedule," I tell the lady at the desk."
"Yes, of course, do you have your student number?"
I hand over my student identification card with the information she'll need.
"Okay, I've found you," she says. She then hands me the paper she just printed with my schedule. "It looks like you were assigned someone to show you around. You can wait over there on those seats."
"Okay. Thank you so much," I replied.
I sit next to a girl with blue hair, blue cat glasses, and cute nails. I wait.
"Hey, what's your name?" I hear her ask me.
"Jessica Mia Jones. What's yours?"
"Antonella Gray. Nice to meet you. I think I've been assigned to be your tour guide today."
"Likewise," I smile at her. "Where do we start?"
Antonella stands from her seat. She extends her arms enthusiastically.
"Welcome to US University, Jessica Jones. You can call me Nella. I hope you've read the code of conduct. If not..." she leans in to whisper. "It'll be fine. I'll tell you about the most important points."
"Okay," I laugh. "In all honesty, I did not read it. I was busy moving to the city. Please call me Mia."
"No worries, girl. I've got you," she says. "Perhaps you can come to a party tonight. You'll meet some people since you're new to both the town and this college. It's a frat house party so don't set high expectations."
"I will pick you up at seven,'' she says. "You better be done by then."
I guess I have a new mother.
~*~*~*~
When I get home, I start working on my homework in my bedroom. It's five o'clock by the time I'm done with it. I have three hours to get dressed. I take a quick bath, then get dressed. I'm finished getting ready by six-thirty. I hurried downstairs to write a note to my mom letting her know that I went to a party. Twenty minutes later I hear the beep of a car horn. I hurry to get my bag and put on my shoes before heading out the door. When I get in the car, Nella introduces me to her brother who's none other than Damian Gray - the one who showed me to the registration desk - and her boyfriend, Mike.
The frat house is filled with people who've come to the party. Nella takes me straight to the drink bar. She asks for two beers.
"What do you want?" she asked me.
"I don't drink," I reply.
"Well, there's a first for everything" She winks.
She grabs the two beers that have been set on the island. She hands one to me.
"Cheers," she clicks her bottle to mine. She takes a sip from hers.
~*~*~*~
I don't know how much I've had to drink, but I feel fantastic.
"JESSICA!!!" He screeches.
"Why are you screaming, handsome?" I ask him.
"How much did you drink?" Damian asks, "I told you not to drink too much."
"But I didn't drink that much. I mean I can still count till 10" I said.
"Ok, then. Go ahead. I want to hear it," The handsome guy says.
Ok, here goes nothing. "1... 2... 4..."
"Nope, let's go. You're drunk," Damian says while he was picking me up.
"But the party...."
"You're drunk. I'm taking you home," He leaves no room for anything else.
Silence.Not the kind born of peace, but of something broken too deeply to remember its sound.Mia opened her eyes to a world drowned in light. The air shimmered around her, thick with the scent of burned magic. The sky above was no longer silver but fractured—cracks of darkness laced through it like veins, bleeding faint ribbons of color.Her body ached. Every bone screamed with exhaustion, every nerve buzzing from the surge that had torn through her. The blue crystal was gone, nothing but fine dust in her palm.“Mia!”The voice was distant at first, muffled by ringing ears. Then it grew sharper. Damian’s shadow loomed over her, face streaked with soot, eyes wide with fear.She tried to speak but coughed instead, forcing air through raw lungs. “Did it work?”He helped her sit up, scanning the horizon. “If by ‘work’ you mean the world hasn’t collapsed yet, then… maybe.”Mia followed his gaze. The Aether Spire still stood, but its glow had changed. What was once silver and pure now fli
The morning after the forging dawned pale and cold. The storm had left the valley glistening like glass, every blade of grass tipped with dew and ash. Mia stood at the ridge, her cloak snapping in the wind, eyes fixed westward toward the Shadowed Peaks. They looked impossibly far—jagged silhouettes carved from the bones of the world, each crowned in rolling black clouds.Behind her, the camp stirred with the faint hum of renewal. The Hybrids were awake, moving with the quiet rhythm of discipline reborn. For the first time since the battle, there was structure again—purpose where there had been chaos.“Form up!” Damian’s voice cut through the morning fog. He moved among them like a blade through smoke, sharp and steady. “You all know your positions. We move at dusk.”Mia turned, watching him direct the preparations. For a fleeting second, she let herself feel something like pride. They had broken, yes—but they had not stayed broken.Nella jogged up to her, tightening her bracers. “The
The valley no longer screams. It whispers.Smoke coils from the ruins like the last breath of a dying god. Ash drifts through the morning air, soft as snow. What was once green is gray, and what was once bright is buried beneath the weight of silence. Yet among the wreckage, life stirs. Wolves move through the mist, carrying the wounded. Hybrids dig shallow graves, marking each with a stone etched with light.Mia walks between them, her cloak dragging through the soot. The crown of silver flame that once burned bright above her head is dim now, reduced to a faint shimmer when she breathes. The mark of her bond pulses weakly on her wrist, a ghost of the power she used to command. But her eyes—her eyes still hold the fire of purpose.She stops near the river, where the current runs black with ash. Nella stands there, washing blood from her hands. Her movements are slow and deliberate.“He’s gone,” Mia says softly.Nella nods without looking up. “But the mark remains. The scouts say it s
Mia’s POVLight and shadow meet with a sound that doesn’t belong to any world Mia has ever known. It’s not thunder or wind—it’s the universe tearing at its seams. The collision throws her backward, spinning through a vortex of color and pain. When she hits the ground, she tastes iron and ash.“Mia!”She hears the Hybrids calling, their voices distant through the roar. Smoke chokes the air. The valley is gone, replaced by a wasteland of burning stone and fractured sky. The resonance link between them flickers, thin as a thread.“Stay together!” she yells, forcing herself upright. “Circle formation, now!”They obey, crawling through debris and flame until they find each other. Nella’s arm bleeds from shoulder to wrist, her water power sputtering into steam. Taro limps, half his armor melted. Lira coughs blood but still lifts her hands, the air around her trembling.Mia gathers them with a look. “We fight until I say stop.”The Rogue King stands in the center of the devastation, shadows
The night finally gives way to the faintest breath of dawn. For a long moment, Mia stands at the edge of the cliff that overlooks the valley below, the wind curling through her hair and stirring the scent of pine, smoke, and rain. The land is still bruised from battle—the scars of the Heart of Shadows visible in the torn trees and the ash-gray soil—but the first light spills over it like forgiveness.For months she dreamed of this view. Now, awake and whole, she feels the hum of the Seven Hybrids behind her, their energies threading through the air like notes in a single song. It is quiet, yet powerful enough to raise goosebumps along her skin.She closes her eyes. The power inside her no longer feels foreign. It moves when she breathes, bright and living, as if the stars themselves found a home beneath her ribs.“Still up early,” a familiar voice murmurs.Damian’s warmth presses against her back; his arms slip around her waist. The faint rasp of sleep clings to his voice, and it draw
The Queen’s shadow towered above them, vast and shifting, its jagged crown glowing like broken shards of amethyst. Each movement it made distorted the vault itself—the walls groaned, the air shuddered, and the ground cracked as though reality struggled to hold its shape beneath the weight of its presence.With a roar that rattled the marrow in their bones, the shadow brought its colossal arm down. A wave of darkness surged outward, sweeping across the cavern like a storm tide.“Move!” Damian shouted. He barreled into Mia, knocking her clear as the wave tore through the stone where she had stood. A jagged trench split open, shadow fire licking at the edges.Kael snarled and charged into the surge, his blade glowing with his own essence. He carved a path through the storm, every strike like lightning against the shadow’s tendrils. But the creature laughed, the sound low and terrible, vibrating through the very stone.You are anger, nothing more. Strike as you will—you only bleed yoursel
Welcome to GoodNovel world of fiction. If you like this novel, or you are an idealist hoping to explore a perfect world, and also want to become an original novel author online to increase income, you can join our family to read or create various types of books, such as romance novel, epic reading, werewolf novel, fantasy novel, history novel and so on. If you are a reader, high quality novels can be selected here. If you are an author, you can obtain more inspiration from others to create more brilliant works, what's more, your works on our platform will catch more attention and win more admiration from readers.
Comments