Where am I?

Aria’s POV:

I wake up slowly, not because I'm well-rested but because everything hurts. My head throbs first, dull and heavy, like I've been dragged through something I don't remember. My body follows, stiff and sore, as if I fought something in my sleep or perhaps something fought me. When my eyes finally open, I'm met with a ceiling I don't recognize. The dark wood beams stretch overhead, carved with strange symbols that seem to shift slightly if I stare too long, though they stop moving when I blink.

"Good," a voice says, and I jerk upright too fast, pain flashing through my skull as I turn toward the sound. I'm not alone.

The man standing across the room looks exactly like the kind of person who drags girls off the street in the middle of the night. He’s tall, controlled, and impossibly calm.

Power radiates off him, not wild like mine, but precise and intentional, like he has spent years mastering it. It presses against my skin in a way that makes it hard to breathe. "Where am I?" I demand, my voice rough from disuse. He doesn't answer right away, instead studying me like I'm something under a microscope before finally saying, "Ebonveil Academy." The name lands heavier now than it did before, real and unavoidable. I swallow hard. "You kidnapped me." "We relocated you," he corrects smoothly, and my jaw tightens.

"That's not better."

"No," he agrees, "but it was necessary."

I swing my legs over the side of the bed, ignoring the way the room tilts slightly. "I didn't ask to be here."

“No one ever does," he replies, and there's no mockery in his tone, just fact.

“Who are you?" I ask.

“The Headmaster," he replies. "You can call me Headmaster Ravenwood." Of course he has a name like that.

“Great," I mutter. "So you're in charge of all this... whatever this is." His gaze sharpens slightly.”

“This," he says, gesturing around us, "is where individuals like you are sent when their abilities become... problematic."

My stomach twists. "I didn't do anything."

"You fractured space, manipulated shadow, and triggered a storm system in a clear sky," he states, and I go still.

“I…”

“You killed someone," he adds quietly, and the words hit like a physical blow.

My throat closes. "I didn't mean to," I whisper.

“I know," he says again, with no judgment, which almost makes it worse.

He moves then, slow and deliberate, stopping a few feet in front of me. "Intent does not lessen danger," he says. "And you, Aria Veyne, are very dangerous."

My chest tightens. "I don't even know what I am."

“That," he says, "is part of the problem."

Silence stretches between us, heavy and uncomfortable, before he continues, shifting seamlessly into something that almost sounds like a lecture.

“Ebonveil is divided into houses. Each one represents a dominant bloodline. Vampires. Fae. Wolves. Others."

I frown. "And I'm supposed to... what? Pick one?"

“Typically, students are placed based on their lineage."

“Which I don't have."

“Which," he corrects, "we have not yet identified." That's not reassuring.

"So what happens to me?" I ask.

After a brief pause, he says, "You will choose."

I stare at him. "You're serious."

“Yes."

“That makes no sense."

“No," he agrees. "It doesn't."

I let out a sharp breath, dragging a hand through my hair. "So I just... what? Pick a side?"

“For now," he says. "It will determine where you live, who you train with, and how you are... perceived."

Great. No pressure. "What if I choose wrong?" His gaze holds mine.

“Then we will all suffer the consequences." I don't like that answer. At all. "You have until the end of the day," he continues. "Until then, you will attend classes as scheduled."

My head snaps up. "Classes? You think I'm just going to sit in a classroom like nothing happened?" "Yes." I blink at him. "You're serious." "Completely."

A sharp knock cuts through the tension, and the door opens before I can say anything else. A girl steps inside. She looks about my age, with dark hair pulled back and a neutral expression, though her eyes flick to me with quick, assessing interest.

“This is Elara," Headmaster Ravenwood says. "She'll escort you." Escort. Right. Not letting me out of their sight.

Elara gives a small nod. "Come on." I hesitate for half a second, then stand. Because what other choice do I have?

The halls of Ebonveil are nothing like I expected. They are massive, with stone walls stretching high, lined with dark banners marked with symbols I don't recognize. The air feels heavier here, charged, as if the entire place is alive with power. Students move through the corridors in clusters, and they all notice me. At first it's subtle glances, whispers, and then less subtly they stare. "What's wrong with them?" I mutter under my breath.

Elara doesn't slow. "Word travels fast here." "About what?" She glances at me. "You." Of course.

We turn a corner, and the energy shifts. It’s immediate, noticeable, and conversations quiet, movements slow. Even I feel it, the same pressure I've been feeling since I got here, only stronger, sharper, more focused. My skin prickles. "What is that?" I whisper.

Elara doesn't answer right away, her posture straightens slightly. "Don't stare," she says quietly, but it's too late. My gaze lifts, and I see them. Three figures down the hall, separated but somehow connected, the space around them feeling different, heavier, as if everything bends just slightly in their presence. My breath catches. I don't know why. I've never seen them before, but something inside me recognizes them.

One leans lazily against the wall, silver hair catching the light, a slow, knowing smile playing on his lips as his eyes flick toward me too bright, too sharp, and my chest tightens. Another stands further back, arms crossed, posture rigid. His green eyes lock onto mine for half a second, and something in my stomach drops. It’s not fear, but something worse, something that feels like instinct. The third I don't see clearly, just a shadowed figure near the edge of the hall, still, watching. My heart starts pounding in my chest, too fast, too hard. What is wrong with me?

"Keep walking," Elara mutters under her breath, and I force my gaze forward, force my feet to move, but I can still feel them even as we pass, even as the distance grows. Something shifts inside me subtle, unsettling, and for some reason, I know this isn't the last time I'll see them.