There were seven official Houses, each one an empire unto itself:
House Dominion, led by Chancellor Hilliard Warwick, was the House of politicians. They ruled with influence instead of force—masters of legislation, manipulation, and legacy. If they wanted you gone, you wouldn’t see fists. You’d see polite meetings, closed-door councils, and the slow suffocation of bureaucratic precision.House Valiant, under Lady Grace Kerres, built futures from steel and fire. Entrepreneurs, inventors, strategists—children of tycoons and innovators who didn’t just own businesses, they owned outcomes. Their style was clean, ruthless, and devastatingly effective. People didn't argue with Valiant. They just went bankrupt.House Phantom, shepherded by the elusive Professor Rhys Calloway, was the house of the scholarship elite—the survivors. These students hadn’t inherited power. They earned it. With blades sharpened from hardship, they were the smartest, quickest, and most daThe invitation came too easily.Hannah stood at the edge of the stone courtyard, arms folded tight across her chest as a cold wind cut through the gaps in her jacket. The academy’s ancient clock tower loomed behind her, its shadow long and thin across the moss-slick cobbles. Every instinct in her body told her to walk away. Turn around. Go back.Instead, she faced him.Adonis Hale.Perfect posture. Impeccable coat. And that insufferable smile like he’d already won something.Behind him stood the rest of House Elect—Julia, Eddie, Sophia, and Jon arrayed like a chessboard of beautiful, expressionless predators. “We’ve reconsidered,” Adonis said smoothly, hands tucked into the pockets of his coat. “You’re in.”Hannah arched a brow. “Just like that?”“Just like that.”She let her silence answer.A gust of wind blew her curls into her face. She didn’t move to fix them.“You humiliated me,” she said flatly. “In front of half the student body. And now you want to... induct me?”Adonis’s s
Thornecrest Academy, Stadium GroundsThe stadium roared with a sound that could shatter glass—a chorus of teenage screams, foot-stomps, horns, and chants that rose and fell in waves. The annual friendly match against Woodland Academy wasn’t just a game. It was war.The crowd was a chaotic masterpiece: face paint smeared with sweat, foam fingers waving like flags of delusion, and House scarves used less for team spirit and more for dramatically tossing over shoulders.Joy Tau rolled out her shoulders at the edge of the track, her butterfly locs tied up in a high puff that swayed with every stretch. Her navy-and-gold cheer uniform hugged her like it was tailored by vengeance. Thighs taut, back straight, chin high. Next to her, Denise Poppins adjusted her ponytail like it was a crown."Try not to get in my way," Joy said with a slow smirk.Denise snorted. "You just want to show off."Joy arched a brow. "And you love watching."Denise made a noise somewhere between disgust and agreement
Thornecrest Academy, one week later.The academy hadn’t been the same since Inferno.It was all anyone talked about—the kind of night that became legend before it even ended. Even the ones who weren’t invited acted like they had been, dropping vague comments, trailing just enough detail to sound believable. As if their cousin’s roommate’s lab partner had definitely been there and told them all about the glowing drinks, the music that rattled bones, the way the lights pulsed like a heartbeat from underground.“Nothing compares,” someone whispered near the juice dispensers at breakfast.“House Prestige could never,” another scoffed in the hallway, rolling their eyes like they weren’t still furious they hadn’t gotten an invitation.Dominion, Valiant, Titan—they’d hosted their stupid gala nights and velvet-soaked socials. But this? This was underground. This was illegal-adjacent. This felt like it should’ve been shut down but somehow wasn’t, which only made it more powerful. It was dan
Rumors had a way of sprouting fangs at Thornecrest Academy.Some nipped playfully. Others—like tonight’s—went full‑venom, racing through dorms, study halls, and the dusty corners of group chats in less than an afternoon.House Six is throwing a party.Not a meeting. Not a prank. An honest‑to‑gods party.And House Six—Thornecrest’s resident pack of “don’t‑look‑at‑me” misfits—had never thrown anything bigger than a sidelong glare.So at first, no one believed it.Then the invitations appeared.Black‑and‑gold cards slipped into textbook spines, balanced on lunch trays, stuffed inside lab goggles. Each bore the three‑headed wolf crest, the number 10:30 PM, and absolutely nothing else.That silence was the hook: no dress code, no RSVP, no hints. Just a time and the wolf, daring every eye that saw it.By dinner, the cafeteria buzzed louder than the soda machines. The chosen clutched their envelopes like lottery tickets. The envelope‑less pretended not to care (while frantically checking und
It started with a missing hoodie—not just any hoodie, but Fiero’s hoodie. It was the black one he wore every night. Oversized. Sleeves frayed. No one asked why but everyone in House Six knew better than to touch it.So when it disappeared, everyone immediately assumed one thing: someone was about to die.Miriam was the first to notice Fiero’s agitation. He wasn’t loud about it. Fiero was never loud but his eyes had been narrower than usual, his movements sharper. She saw him check the couch, his desk, even the common room. The search was slow, methodical, almost detached. But Miriam knew Fiero well enough to recognize the tension under the surface.Eventually, she asked, "Did someone touch your hoodie?"Fiero’s gaze snapped to her. "It’s missing."That was all it took.House Six snapped into mission mode like it was their job.Miriam pulled up her tablet, fingers flying as she hacked into the dorm’s internal security system, skimming through footage from the past 48 hours.Moses le
The academy was silent, save for the occasional rustle of wind slipping through the trees and the distant, throaty hoot of an owl perched somewhere beyond the ivy-wrapped walls. Thornecrest held its breath, cloaked in moonlight and secrets.It was 11:37 PM when House Six slipped from their dorm like shadows shedding skin.Their movements were silent, measured, and deliberate—each step coordinated as if the night had bowed and handed them the reins. No creaking floorboards. No whispered words. Just the soft hush of breath and the faint rustle of fabric against flesh.They moved like they owned the night.Because they did.Five minutes earlier, Miriam had cracked into House Elect’s security network. She hadn't even looked up from her tablet when she spoke, voice low and controlled. “Cameras looped. Took two backdoors and a blind spot in the firewall. One-hour window before the system pings the anomaly.”That was all Fiero needed.He gave a subtle nod and turned, leading them down the