The Wolf, The Vampire, The Fae, and the Dragon

Elise’s POV

My gaze darted among the four students before me.

The four of them didn’t just smell like trouble.

They looked like it too.

One lounged across the longest couch, his boots shamelessly resting on the table as though the grand lobby had been built solely for his comfort. Silver hair fell messily over his forehead, framing a pair of silver eyes gleaming with amusement. A dagger spun between his fingers, its blade flashing beneath the chandelier each time it turned.

The second leaned against the railing of the mezzanine. He had broad shoulders, black hair, and dark scales that climbed one side of his neck before disappearing beneath the collar of his uniform.

Unlike the silver-haired man, he didn’t look amused.

His stern golden eyes moved from the academy crest in my hand to the doors behind me, as though checking whether I had broken in.

The third sat in the darkest corner of the room.

I almost hadn’t noticed him.

His hair was as black as the night beyond the windows, and his skin looked unnaturally pale against his dark clothes. One elbow rested on the arm of his chair, his fingers lightly touching his lips. His crimson eyes watched me from the shadows.

Is that a vampire?

I had never seen one before, but the thought of living under the same roof as one sent dread pressing against my chest.

The last student sat on the sill of an open window.

My brows furrowed when I caught him smiling and waving at me.

That man…

He was the first student I had encountered after arriving at the academy. Before I could think more about it, the silver-haired student caught his dagger by the handle.

“Look what just walked in.”

His voice held enough delight to make my shoulders tense.

I watched their expressions shift and briefly held my breath. Still clutching my academy crest in one hand, I remained by the entrance.

After spending the entire day getting lost, why had I walked into a dormitory with these four? Where were the other students?

I discreetly surveyed the lobby. Maybe they hadn’t found this place? When I found no one else, I squared my shoulders and looked back at them.

“Good…” I forced a smile. “Evening?”

None of them reacted, but their eyes never left me. Except for the green-haired student. He was grinning—practically beaming—and his bright expression almost blinded me.

Well, that went well. 

“I was assigned a room here,” I added.

“They’ve really done it, huh?” The silver-haired student scoffed, running his tongue over one sharp canine. “What were they thinking? Shoving us all in here with…”

He paused, examining me from head to toe. “…that thing.”

That thing? Me? A THING?

I scoffed under my breath but bit my tongue, reminding myself of Maya’s instruction.

Quietly.

I was supposed to live quietly.

The silver-haired student spun his dagger once more before catching it by the handle.

“Come closer, human.”

Instead of stepping forward, I stepped back. “Where is Room Thirteen?”

His brows lifted, but I pointed toward one of the corridors.

“Is it this way?”

“You think I’ll hurt you?”

Yes! I’d bet my life on it.

But the answer that left my mouth was, “No…?”

BAM!

He suddenly drove the dagger into the wooden table. The blade sank deep enough to make me flinch.

“There,” he said. “Now come closer.”

The voice in my head screamed that reaching the door behind me would take only a few steps more than reaching that silver-haired menace.

So I took another step back.

“Pfft—” A faint, stifled chuckle came from the darkest corner of the room.

The silver-haired student turned toward the vampire. “Did you just laugh, Lucien?”

“No,” the vampire answered. His voice was low and smooth, almost pleasant.

“That’s a first.” The silver-haired student looked at everyone except me. “You heard him, right?”

“Stop tormenting her, Kael.”

This time, the green-haired gentleman waved dismissively before approaching me with the same warm, gentle smile.

Kael. I discreetly glanced at the silver-haired man. So that was his name.

Then my gaze shifted toward the vampire.

And he was Lucien.

Good. Two names to remember—and two people to avoid.

It was the first time I had heard either name, and I had no idea who they truly were. All I knew was that they exuded an aura unlike that of any student I had encountered so far.

Now I regretted not sacrificing a few nights of sleep to reread my history books—or research anything else I could find about this place.

“Elise!”

The green-haired student stopped beside me, his smile growing even wider.

“Elise Artlion, correct? The cursed princess of your kingdom?”

I nearly choked on the title he had so casually attached to my name.

Was that necessary?

“We didn’t exchange names earlier,” he continued. “I’m Evander Sylvaris, Crown Prince of the Fae Kingdom.”

My brain stopped working for a moment as I stared at him. Compared to the others, he certainly appeared friendlier.

“Crown Prince…?” I blurted before I could stop myself.

I knew every student here was either an heir or a member of a royal or noble house. Still, I hadn’t expected the student I encountered earlier to be such an important figure among the fae.

As if trying to disperse the tension in the room, Evander draped an arm across my shoulders. I nearly buckled beneath its sudden weight before following the hand he extended toward the others.

“The one with the silver hair is Kael Fenrath, First Prince of the Northern Wolves,” he began, pointing directly at the silver-haired student.

A wolf?

My mind buzzed as I regarded Kael more cautiously.

I had heard his name only moments ago, but hearing the Northern Wolves mentioned alongside it made my body stiffen.

Of course I had heard about the beasts of the north—and how brutally they slaughtered their enemies.

“That person over there is Kael’s dearest friend, Lucien La Crox,” Evander continued cheerfully, pointing toward the dark corner. “Heir of the Blood Court, the most powerful of the vampire courts.”

“I would hardly call us friends,” Lucien said.

Kael grinned. “Don’t be shy.”

I had never heard of the Blood Court in particular, but I knew vampires were few and governed by several powerful courts. Their rulers regularly attended the World Summits alongside kings, queens, and imperial representatives.

“And the one on the mezzanine…” Evander pointed toward the stern-looking student, who was quite literally looking down at me. “That is Zarek Vaeloryn, Successor to the Black Dragon Throne.”

Dragon.

I pursed my lips.

If vampires were few, surviving dragon bloodlines were even rarer. If I remembered correctly, only the true heirs of the surviving dragon clans possessed the power to transform into actual dragons.

Evander laughed at my expression, forcing me to look back at him. It was a quiet, pleasant sound.

Yet something about it made me uneasy.

“And the four of us…” Evander finally removed his arm from my shoulders and turned to face me, smiling from ear to ear. “Were sentenced to live in Old Lunar Hall after we drove the last human assigned here insane.”

He beamed at me.

“Let’s get along, Elise.”

The moment those words registered, the voice in my head could scream only one thing.

Holy shit.