The streets blurred around me as we moved, the sounds of the city—a mixture of distant chatter and the clatter of hooves against stone—fading into the background. My focus was entirely on what came next.
Claire and Tessa had already disappeared down one of the winding roads, racing toward the Southern district where Claire's home was. Lillian was gone, already swept away by the royal entourage. Diana stood at my side, silent, her jaw tight as she processed the news about her father. Camille was the only one who remained fully steady, walking with purpose, her movements smooth and controlled, like she had already accepted the inevitable.
I exhaled sharply, trying to think, trying to plan, but my mind kept looping back to the guard's words.
They've infiltrated the North Gate.The South, near the countryside.
It didn't make sense.
The North Gate was one of the most fortified locations in the kingdom. It had survived countless battles, sieges, and attempts to break through. The South, on the other hand, was practically untouched territory. There was no reason for monsters to suddenly appear there—unless something had gone terribly wrong.
Or worse.
Unless someone had let them in.
I clenched my fists.
"Think," I muttered under my breath. "There has to be more to this."
"You're not wrong."
Camille's voice was calm, but there was something icy beneath it.
I turned to her. "You feel it too, don't you?"
She nodded. "This isn't a random attack. It's too coordinated."
Diana let out a slow breath, her emerald eyes sharp. "My father wouldn't have sent no word unless the situation was dire."
"Exactly." My fingers twitched as I tried to piece together the information we had. "Something's being hidden. The academy, the nobles, even the city—they've all been too quiet."
Diana scoffed, folding her arms. "Perhaps they thought they could contain it before it reached us. How foolish."
"Or," Camille murmured, "they didn't want people to prepare."
I stopped walking.
Diana and Camille halted as well, turning to face me.
"...What are you saying?" Diana asked, voice measured.
Camille's eyes darkened. "What if this wasn't just a failure to communicate? What if this silence was intentional?"
A chill ran down my spine.
It made too much sense.
The nobles were too calm. The academy had pushed us through trial after trial, forcing us into a brutal training schedule without fully explaining why. No warnings, no preparation for an actual emergency.
It was like someone had been buying time.
And now, time had run out.
The silence hadn't been just negligence.
It had been a cover-up.
Diana's expression twisted in realization. "Someone knew this was coming."
"And they let it happen anyway," Camille finished, her tone flat, emotionless.
My stomach turned.
The tension between us thickened, the weight of what we had just realized settling like a stone in my chest.
And then—
The screams began.
A sharp, blood-curdling shriek tore through the air, cutting through the distant chatter of the city like a blade.
We whipped around.
Down the street, past the marketplace, smoke curled into the sky.
Shouts. Running footsteps. A merchant's stall toppled over, its wares spilling into the street as people scattered in a frenzy. The distant pounding of hooves grew louder, mixed with the unmistakable sound of weapons being drawn.
Camille was already moving.
Diana grabbed my wrist. "We need to go. Now."
I didn't hesitate.
We ran.
Pushing past the crowd, dodging bodies, my heart hammering against my ribs. I caught flashes of armored guards rushing forward, of knights mounted on horseback trying to control the chaos.
Then—
I saw it.
A towering, twisted creature, its form grotesque and unnatural, tearing through the side of a building with terrifying ease.
It was like nothing I had ever seen before.
Not just a mindless monster. Not one of the creatures that lurked beyond the North Gate.
This was something worse.
Something that shouldn't exist.
The air around it crackled, warping like heat waves on stone.
Magic.
But not normal magic.
Diana cursed under her breath. "What is that?"
The answer lodged in my throat.
I didn't know.
But I knew one thing.
It wasn't alone.
Another inhuman screech rang out, followed by a crash as another beast emerged from the alleyway, its eyes glowing with something unnatural.
Camille didn't wait.
Her hand lifted—a wave of ice surged forward, freezing the ground beneath the nearest monster, locking its lower body in place.
It roared, thrashing against the ice, cracks already forming.
I reached for my own magic, fire igniting in my palms just as Diana flicked her wrist, her rapier drawn and glowing with magic.
"We hold them off until the guards get a handle on this," Camille said, already calculating the battlefield.
"That's assuming they can," I muttered.
Diana twirled her blade, her stance graceful, unwavering. "Then let's make sure they do."
The air crackled with tension, the metallic scent of magic burning in my nose as the creatures lunged.
Camille and I moved at the same time.
She was already ahead, ice surging at her command, freezing the ground beneath the first beast before it could gain momentum. It let out an ear-piercing shriek, its clawed limbs snapping violently against the ice, frost crawling up its grotesque body, trying to lock it in place.
But this thing was strong.
Too strong.
Cracks split through Camille's ice, spiderwebbing up the frozen barrier in seconds.
I didn't give it a chance to break free.
With a snap of my wrist, fire burst to life in my palm, the searing heat curling up my fingers as I thrust my hands forward.
Flames roared through the space between us, colliding with the frozen body in a blinding surge of opposing elements. Ice and fire, burning and freezing in equal measure.
The creature screeched, its body convulsing. The sudden, violent shift between heat and frost wreaked havoc on its unnatural form, its hardened flesh cracking apart as steam exploded from the pressure.
It wasn't dead. Not yet.
But it was staggering.
Camille shifted beside me, her movements swift and effortless. Her eyes locked onto the creature, her hand already lifting for another strike.
I matched her pace.
The moment the creature tried to recover, Camille launched forward—her hand slamming against the icy ground as spikes of razor-sharp frost erupted from the earth, impaling the beast's legs before it could leap.
I followed immediately. My dagger slipped into my grip, and with a surge of magic, I launched myself forward, fire exploding beneath my feet, propelling me upward.
The creature saw me coming.
But it was too slow.
I twisted mid-air, flipping over its head, and with a swift arc, my blade sliced through the weakest point of its exposed neck.
A howl of agony ripped through the streets as fire followed my strike, searing through the open wound before the flames detonated from the inside.
The monster collapsed.
Dead.
I barely had a second to breathe before another screech rang out.
Camille and I turned just in time to see the second creature charging forward.
But before it could reach us—
A sharp gust of wind tore through the air, followed by a flash of silver.
Diana.
Her rapier sliced through the creature's extended claws, cutting through its attack before it could land. The force of her strike sent it reeling backward, its unnatural form stumbling over itself.
She didn't even flinch, her stance composed, poised.
"I would appreciate it," she called, twirling her blade, "if you two handled things at the front a bit faster."
Camille let out a soft huff, amused.
"Then keep the rear secure, dear Diana," she replied smoothly. "Or are you struggling?"
Diana laughed. "As if."
Another sharp gust of wind erupted, and I saw Diana pivot, fluid and unyielding, striking at the next enemy that tried to slip past us.
She wasn't fighting like us—she wasn't overwhelming the monsters with raw power.
She was controlling the flow of battle.
Every step she took was measured, deliberate. Every slash, every deflection, was meant to redirect rather than overpower, forcing the enemy into predictable movement patterns.
She was buying us time.
She was making sure nothing got past.
I met Camille's gaze, both of us coming to the same conclusion.
We had to finish this—fast.
The second creature was already regaining balance, its unnatural limbs bending at impossible angles, eyes glowing with eerie, pulsing light.
It wasn't just attacking blindly.
It was learning. Adapting.
This thing—these things—weren't just monsters.
Something was controlling them.
My stomach tightened.
I clenched my dagger tighter, the heat of my magic pulsing in my veins as Camille and I moved again—
But before we could attack, a sharp, ear-splitting roar tore through the city.
And then—
A shadow fell over us.
For a moment, everything stopped.
Camille and I froze.
Diana—mid-strike, mid-motion—went still.
The guards, the knights, the scattered civilians still hiding in the alleys—all of them lifted their heads.
Because looming above the rooftops, its grotesque form partially hidden in the thick, swirling mist, was something far larger than the creatures we had just faced.
Something that had been watching.
Waiting.
And now, it had decided to make itself known.
My breath hitched.
Because the presence I felt coming from that thing—
It wasn't just monstrous.
It was intelligent.
And it was watching me.
A creeping, unnatural pressure wrapped around my chest, like a coil tightening, a force I had never felt before—something dark, something aware.
And then—
A voice.
But not just any voice.
A voice that had been absent for weeks.
A voice I had almost convinced myself had disappeared for good.
"Let me take over."
Sera Vandren.
The original.
The moment those words rang in my mind, a violent shudder tore through me, my pulse hammering in my ears.
I didn't move.
I barely breathed.
I should have expected this. I should have known. She had been too silent, and now—of all times—she was awake again.
My fingers twitched, the weight of my dagger suddenly heavier in my grip.
"Let me take over."
My vision blurred, my breath uneven.
Should I?
Would I even have a choice?
If I didn't—if I hesitated—would we even survive this?
Would Camille?
Would Diana?
Would Tessa, Claire, Lillian—would any of them make it out of this if I kept holding back?
And if I said yes…
If I let her in—
Would Camille and Diana still recognize me by the end of it?
Would I recognize myself?
But suddenly, I realized something.
That didn't matter.
For the first time since I arrived in this world, I didn't care.
I wasn't thinking about what came after.
I wasn't thinking about the plot, or the future, or what this meant for the fragile identity I had been desperately holding onto.
All I cared about—all I could think about—was keeping them safe.
I had been alone in this for so long, convincing myself that these people were just characters, that their emotions weren't real, that their lives weren't meant to intertwine with mine.
But they had.
They had, over and over again, in ways I had never expected, and now—they weren't just characters.
They were my people.
And if Sera Vandren—the real Sera Vandren—could make me stronger, could make sure they survived this, then…
"Fine." I thought, the words barely formed before my vision began to slip.
"Keep them safe."
I felt it instantly.
A sharp, twisting force, like cold steel sliding through my veins, like ice locking over fire.
Sera Vandren—the original—laughed, her voice curling in my head like a whisper against my skull.
"Oh, darling. I thought you'd never ask."
A wicked, eerie grin stretched in my mind, and suddenly, the world plunged into darkness.