All Chapters of VIREMONT ACADEMY:THE SEALED HUMAN CLAIMED BY THE FOUR SCIONS: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

I pointed the metal tool directly at Lachlan's face, gripping the handle so hard my blistered palms screamed in protest.Lachlan slowly lowered his hand from Darian's throat and turned his head to look at me.He didn't look scared or intimidated by my sudden appearance in the mud ring.A cruel, barking laugh escaped his lips, and the sound barely cut through the loud storm raging across the quad.The other wolves standing in the tight circle started muttering, clearly annoyed that an unranked human had interrupted their sacred pack ritual."Are you lost, human?" Lachlan asked, wiping a streak of dark blood off his jaw with the back of his hand."I told you to get away from him right now," I repeated, but my voice shook so badly it completely ruined the threat.Lachlan ignored the wrench and took a slow, deliberate step toward me.His claws were still fully extended, and the amber glow burning in his eyes was absolutely terrifying up close."This is pack business, so you do not belong

Darian dropped his hand from my cheek as the deafening siren wailed again, shattering the quiet morning air.Faculty guards were already flooding onto the muddy grass from the main pathways, yelling strict orders and pointing heavy batons toward the armory."Get up, both of you," a tall guard barked, grabbing my arm and hauling me to my feet before I could even catch my breath.I stumbled and almost fell right back into the dirt, but the guard kept a bruising grip on my bicep.Darian stood up slowly and wiped the fresh blood from his mouth, his amber eyes flashing with a brief spark of defiance.He took half a step toward me, clearly wanting to intervene, but another guard shoved him hard in the chest to herd him toward the shifter ranks."Move it, Varric," the second guard ordered.Darian gave me one last worried look over his shoulder before the massive crowd of panicked students swallowed him up.I didn't have time to process the near-kiss, and I definitely didn't have time to proc

"What is it?" she asked, her voice hitching nervously. "Is the projector glitching out?""That isn't a glitch," I whispered, keeping my eyes locked on the moving mist.Saskia froze, her hand still gripping the bright blue flag we just found.The massive shape in the mist didn't hum or flicker like the holographic traps we had been dodging all morning.It blocked out the faint morning light, and the freezing temperature around us dropped even further.Then the screech hit us.It was a raw, deafening sound that rattled my teeth and made my cracked ribs throb with a fresh wave of panic."Cover your ears!" I yelled, pulling her down behind a cluster of damp boulders.No hidden projector could ever produce a noise that horrifying.The shadow tore through the thick tree line, splintering a massive oak trunk like it was made of dry kindling.A towering, mutated shadow-fiend stepped into the clearing.It looked like a nightmare woven from dark smoke and rotting flesh, with long, jagged limbs

The sheer weight of the shadow-fiend hitting me felt like getting struck by a speeding freight train, and all the air vanished from my lungs in a violent, ragged rush.My boots left the wet ground as the impact lifted me up and threw me backward through the freezing fog.I flew through the air for a terrifying second before I slammed hard into the thick, freezing mud.My cracked ribs finally gave way under the extreme pressure of the terrible fall.A sickening crunch echoed in my ears, making my vision swim with a fresh wave of blinding, white-hot agony.I couldn't even draw enough breath to scream, and the dark world spun wildly out of control.Before I could even try to roll over, the monster crashed down right on top of my chest."No, no, no! Get away from her!" Saskia shrieked, her voice tearing through the quiet woods.I heard her heavy boots slipping and sliding in the mud as she scrambled backward, desperate to put distance between herself and the beast.The shadow-fiend ignore

I shoved past the frozen line of combat professors, ignoring the strict academy rules about maintaining rank and order.I knocked a tall warlock right out of my way, sending his wooden staff clattering against the damp rocks.None of them moved to stop me, and none of them stepped a single foot inside the smoking crater.They just stood on the jagged edge of the ruined tree line like cowards, terrified of the unranked human girl bleeding out in the dirt.I sprinted across the hot ash, my boots sinking deep into the warm mud as I closed the distance between us.Liora collapsed face-first into the wet ground just a split second before I reached her.I dropped to my knees and slid the rest of the way, ignoring the sharp rocks tearing into my uniform pants."Liora," I barked, reaching out to grab her shoulders.I tried to turn her over gently, but the fabric of her stolen tactical vest was soaked through with dark, sticky blood.Deep puncture wounds carved through her canvas jacket, leavi