The arena was in chaos. The stands were scattered, students shouting and pushing as everyone tried to make sense of what had just happened. Supernaturals were arguing, some whispering furiously, others yelling at the top of their lungs. Everything was going out of control.
Priscilla leaned closer to the group, her voice barely audible because of the noise. "Where's Dr. Adrian?" she asked, her tone shaky.
Emma froze, glancing around. She hadn't noticed it before, but Priscilla was right. Dr. Adrian, who was always in the thick of things, was nowhere to be found. Her chest tightened as she scanned the crowd.
Mr. Saville stood near the edge of the arena, looking completely lost. His face was pale, and his eyes darted around helplessly. A few teachers tried to restore order, shouting at the students, but it wasn't working. This wasn't just any school; it was a supernatural academy, and the students were powerful and power in the hands of teens well...
Then, like a shadow cutting through the madness, Dr. Adrian appeared at the edge of the stands. His presence alone was enough to draw attention. He didn't need to shout or make a spectacle of himself—his aura was commanding, even terrifying.
Emma spotted him first. "Dr. Adrian's back!" she exclaimed, relief flooding her voice.
Oliver didn't say a word. He stood frozen, his mind racing. Something wasn't adding up. Dr. Adrian had been gone during all the chaos, and now he was back, looking like he'd just come from a fight. Gabriel had called Damian "Caiden" during the match. And now… now Dr. Adrian was here.
Oliver's throat tightened as the pieces began falling into place. Dr. Adrian had left to help Damian—or rather, Caiden Ashwood just as he had said in his journal. The realization hit him.
Before Oliver could say anything, Dr. Adrian climbed the referee's podium and grabbed the microphone. His voice boomed through the speakers, cutting through the chaos like a blade. "Enough!"
The arena fell silent. Everyone, even the rowdiest students, froze in their tracks. The power in Dr. Adrian's voice wasn't just filled with authority—there was magic, and it left no room for disobedience.
"All students," he continued, his voice cold as ice "return to your dorms immediately.
The crowd didn't argue. One by one, the students began filing out of the arena, the excitement replaced by a heavy, uneasy silence.
Emma, Oliver, Priscilla, and Nadia walked together toward their dorms. None of them spoke. The air between them was thick, each of them lost in their thoughts.
Emma couldn't stop replaying Gabriel's words in her head. Caiden. The name made her stomach churn. Damian had lied to them, kept secrets from them—big secrets. And not just any secrets. Assassin kind of secrets.
She clenched her fists, memories she had tried to bury were surfacing against her will. Assassins. She hated them more than anything in the world. They had ruined her life. Her sister Patricia had been her whole world, the one person who had always been there for her. They had struggled together, side by side, through thick and thin.
And then, one horrible day, Patricia witnessed an assassination. That had been enough to seal her fate. The assassins had captured her, deciding to silence her permanently. But that wasn't enough for their pervert boss. He had ordered Patricia to be raped first, just for his psycho pleasure. Emma's sister had survived, but she had never been the same. The trauma had broken her.
Emma felt tears stinging her eyes as she walked, her chest tightening with every step. She didn't want to believe that Damian could be like those monsters, but the thought lingered, gnawing at her.
Beside her, Oliver was silent. His usually sharp mind was overwhelmed, struggling to process everything. Damian was Caiden Ashwood. The name was infamous, written in his father's journal more times than he could count.
Oliver glanced at his father who was walking towards his office. Dr. Adrian's face was unreadable, but his hands were clenched into fists. Oliver's stomach churned. His father had secrets—he always had—but knowing that Damian, their friend, was part of those secrets felt like a betrayal.
Still, Oliver couldn't bring himself to hate Damian. He was disappointed, yes, and hurt. But he also understood that people had their reasons.
Nadia's footsteps faltered slightly as she walked. Her chest felt tight, her thoughts a whirlwind of confusion and pain. Damian had been different from the start, mysterious and aloof, but in a way that had drawn her to him. She had seen glimpses of his kindheartedness and also moments where his mask had slipped. She had started to fall for him.
And now this. Damian wasn't who she thought he was. He was Caiden Ashwood. A killer.
Tears welled up in Nadia's eyes, but she quickly blinked them away, unwilling to let anyone see her cry. She didn't want to believe it, didn't want to accept that the boy she cared about could be someone so cold, so dangerous.
Priscilla glanced nervously at the others, unsure of what to say. The tension was suffocating, and the silence only made it worse. She had known Damian wasn't ordinary—none of them were—but this? This was something else entirely.
Zoe had separated from the group, heading toward the werewolf dorms on her own. She wasn't surprised by the revelation. She had always known Damian was hiding something, but even she hadn't expected this.
Her mind wandered to the joke she had made, threatening to wipe off his makeup. At the time, it had been nothing more than a playful joke she didn't want to be real. But now, it felt like a cruel reminder of just how little she had known about him.
Still, Zoe couldn't bring herself to hate him. She was angry, yes, but she also understood that everyone had their secrets. Damian's just happened to be bigger—and deadlier—than most.
As the group reached their dorms, the silence between them was unbearable. Each of them was lost in their thoughts, their emotions confused.
Damian—or Caiden—was their friend. But who was he really? And more importantly, where was he now?