Ava sprinted down the dimly lit corridors, her breath ragged and uneven, her chest rising and falling in rapid succession. The weight of her actions bore heavily on her—she had left Slyvia behind, bleeding, possibly dying, all for a single stone. The Phoenix Stone. Should she have stayed with her? Should she have abandoned the stone and saved her instead? But Slyvia had been adamant, forcing Ava to run while she barely held onto life.
The air was thick, suffocating, as if something unseen pressed down on her. The once-bustling halls of Ivory High were eerily silent. Gone were the students who had filled the corridors with laughter, gossip, and idle chatter. Either someone had taken them, or the reality around her had shifted, bending into something unfamiliar and sinister.
Ava barely had time to process her surroundings when a sharp, unnatural sound filled the air—the heavy flapping of wings. Not the delicate flutter of birds, but something monstrous, something that defied nature itself. The abomination was chasing her.
She wove through the empty hallways, her heart hammering in her chest. Just as she reached the grand entrance, about to step into the open night, a voice echoed through the hall, laced with authority and unmistakable anger.
Ava froze mid-step.
Her blood ran cold.
That voice—deep, commanding, filled with power—belonged to none other than her father.
The pull of curiosity overpowered her initial instinct to escape. Clutching the Phoenix Stone tightly against her chest, she slunk into the shadows, her footsteps light as she crept towards the source of the voice. She followed him through the abandoned school, her ears straining to catch the conversation ahead.
Through the crack of an open door, she spotted him. Her father, Lyon, stood tall, exuding an aura of supreme dominance. His blue eyes gleamed in the dim light, sharp and calculating. But what sent a tremor down Ava's spine was the man standing before him—Principal Ken Waters, bowing with servitude.
"Your Highness, I apologize for my failure. I couldn't eliminate Asher and Jeremy," Ken said, his voice dripping with desperation. "But I have news that will please Your Majesty."
Ava's breath hitched.
Her father… was a king?
No. That couldn't be possible. They were wealthy, yes, but royalty? And why did the principal, a man who ruled over their school with an iron fist, bow like a mere servant?
Ken's next words shattered any illusions she had left.
"Ezekiel Sawyer has been captured by the Vampire King. He's rotting in the dungeons as we speak. And Asher… he was never a girl. He was a boy hiding in plain sight. But don't worry, both Asher and Jeremy have been placed under a death sleep, thanks to a girl named Abigail. Your worries are settled."
Lyon's face contorted into a scowl, his lips curling in displeasure. "Ken, there's a prophecy. The Divine Being has awakened." His voice was laced with frustration, his hands clenched into fists. "If the Divine Being comes into power, we will all be suppressed. I refuse to let my kind—the carnivores—become mere puppets beneath their rule. I will not let my son be denied his right to the throne of the Seven Seas."
At those words, Ava felt something inside her shatter.
Her brother? The throne of the Seven Seas?
Ava felt like she was drowning in secrets, each revelation heavier than the last.
"I need to know who the Divine Being is," Lyon growled. "Tell me you have found him/her, Ken, or I will tear you apart myself."
Ken swallowed hard, his face pale. "Forgive me, Your Highness, but I have yet to uncover their identity. I know they reside within our school, but they are hiding well. However, there is something else—there is a girl attempting to awaken the Red Oak Tree. She could very well be the Divine Being… and your daughter follows her."
The temperature in the room seemed to drop.
Lyon's eyes darkened into something abyssal, black scales rippling across his skin as his fingers curved into razor-sharp claws. "Rowan," he called, his voice dangerously low, "I was told Ava was asleep like the rest of the students."
A new voice chuckled softly.
Rowan—her brother—stepped into view, his once-gentle eyes now slitted like a serpent's. "Yes, Father," he said smoothly. "Ken must be mistaken. My dear sister is fast asleep in her dorm." His voice was laced with amusement, a smirk playing on his lips. "And Ken, if you speak against her again, I might have to drain you dry."
Ava's blood turned to ice.
Her father wasn't human. Her brother wasn't human. And worst of all—neither was she.
Lyon's grip tightened around Ken's throat, lifting him off the ground with terrifying ease. "You dare deceive me?"
Ken choked, his hands clawing at Lyon's grasp. "P-please… forgive me… I have said everything I know…"
Lyon's expression twisted into pure rage. "The Red Oak Tree must never awaken," he declared. "Volantis will strike. The Vampires, Witches, Werewolves, Lycanthropes, and Sirens—we must eliminate the Divine Being before their power is fully realized."
Ken gasped as Lyon finally released him, sending him crashing to the ground like a discarded rag doll.
"Your Highness," Ken croaked, "there is another way to stop this." His lips curled into a sinister smile. "The Phoenix Stone. It's the key to revealing the gateway to the seekers of the Red Oak Tree. If we can destroy it, then the Divine Being's power will never awaken."
Lyon's eyes gleamed with newfound interest. "Where is the stone?"
Ken hesitated, then turned his gaze to Ava.
"She has it."
Ava's entire body tensed.
Lyon and Rowan whipped around, their predatory gazes locking onto her hidden figure.
"Find the intruder," Lyon ordered. "Bring them to me. If it's one of Ares' vampires, they will die tonight."
Ava felt sheer terror grip her as Rowan's nostrils flared.
"I smell them," he whispered.
She turned and ran.
She ran as fast as her legs could carry her, but she barely made it three steps before something massive slammed into her from the side.
The abomination—a grotesque fusion of reptile and bird—raked its claws across her arm, pain searing through her flesh. She screamed, tumbling to the ground. Blood seeped through her torn sleeves, staining the stone floor beneath her.
Then, from the shadows, Ares emerged, a cruel smirk playing on his lips. Behind him, a legion of vampires stood, their crimson eyes gleaming hungrily.
"Hand over the stone," Ares said, his voice devoid of warmth. "And we'll let you live."
Ken shrieked, "Your Highness! Your daughter has the stone! What do we do?"
Lyon's and Rowan's expressions darkened as they rushed toward her.
Ava knew she had no way out.
No one was coming to save her.
But she also knew one thing—she wouldn't let any of them have it.
Tightening her grip around the Phoenix Stone, she took a deep breath and slammed her foot against the ground.
A sudden force erupted from beneath her.
The ground cracked.
A blinding green flame surged outward, engulfing everything in its path.
The air itself trembled as the power of Goddess Avery—the Flame of Death—burst to life.
Screams echoed through the night as the unworthy were incinerated, their bodies melting into nothing but ashes.
Rowan and Lyon barely managed to escape, their figures retreating into the darkness.
But Ava stood there, untouched, surrounded by emerald flames.
For the first time in her life, she knew the truth.
She wasn't human.
But the question ran wild in the minds of the victims.
" Could she be the divine being."?