Lahat ng Kabanata ng Cold Hearted Captain: Trapped In His Game Of Love: Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 5

Aria.The library is my sanctuary. Tucked away in my corner booth by the tall windows, I can watch the world of Silverridge Academy pass by without anyone noticing me. Students rush past with their designer bags and perfect smiles, their laughter echoing through the marble halls like music I've never learned to play."Another thrilling Friday night planned, I see," I whispered to myself, adjusting my thick-rimmed glasses as I highlight another passage in my Advanced Literature textbook. The yellow marker has become my best friend over the years, reliable, quiet, and never judgmental.I've perfected the art of being invisible. I sit in the back row of every class, never raise my hand unless directly called upon, and eat lunch alone while buried in whatever book can transport me far away from this place. It's easier this way. Safer too."Aria Vale." I practice saying my own name sometimes, just to remember what it sounds like. Most days, I wonder if I disappeared entirely, would anyone

Aria."You're insane," I whisper, staring at Jace like he's grown a second head.He just sat there, calm as can be, watching me with those predatory green eyes. Like what he just said makes perfect sense. Like telling someone they're "yours" is totally normal."Am I?" he asks, tilting his head. "Look at your hands, Aria."I glance down at my hands resting on the white nurse's office sheets. They look normal. Pale, shaky, but normal."I don't see anything.""Look closer."Something in his voice makes me obey. I hold my hands up to the fluorescent light, turning them over. For a split second, I swear I saw something. A faint shimmer under my skin, like moonlight on water.Then it's gone."You're messing with me," I said with anger bubbling up in my chest. "This is just another way to humiliate me, isn't it? Get the weird girl to believe in fairy tales."Jace leans back in his chair, and for the first time since I've known him, he looks hurt. Actually hurt."You think this is a game?""Y

Aria.Three days. That's how long I last on my own before everything goes to hell.I'm staying in a cheap motel outside the city, paying cash and using a fake name. The room smells like cigarettes and broken dreams, but it's better than going home and pretending my life is normal.I spend my time researching. The motel has terrible wifi, but I manage to find scattered information about supernatural bloodlines and ancient magic. Most of it sounds like fantasy novel garbage, but some things make my skin crawl with recognition.The First Blood. The Ancients. Children of the moon and stars who walked the earth before humans learned to make fire.According to one website that looks like it was made in 1995, they were the original supernatural beings. Gods, almost. They created other species as servants, werewolves to hunt, vampires to feed, witches to work magic.But something went wrong. The servants rebelled. The Ancients disappeared, leaving only their mixed-blood descendants scattered