Chp 19
1017 Words
Zyra POV
The last bell echoes through the corridor like a gunshot. I flinch anyway.
Students pour out of the classroom in loud clusters, laughing, shoving, alive in ways I’ve never learned how to be. Their voices blur together, a meaningless hum that fades as I walk faster, cutting through the halls with my head down.
I can still feel his stare.
Even when Dael Morozov isn’t in the room anymore, it’s like he leaves a shadow behind. Something heavy. Watching.
I don’t look back.
I don’t give him that satisfaction.
My boots scuff softly against the stone floor as I head toward the female dormitory, my bag slung over one shoulder, spine stiff with exhaustion. The academy looms around me, ancient walls, iron chandeliers, banners hanging like silent witnesses to centuries of bloodshed and power struggles.
This place was never meant for someone like me.
A silver wolf pretending she belongs among predators who were raised to hunt her kind.
The dormitory doors open with a low creak, and warmth greets me, muted chatter, the faint scent of soap and old books. Safety. Or the closest illusion of it.
I climb the stairs slowly. One step. Another.
Each one pulls me farther away from him.
Good.By the time I reach my floor, my legs ache and my head pounds. I fumble for my key, unlock the door, and step inside my room, shutting it firmly behind me.
Silence.
I drop my bag by the door and lean my forehead against the wood, breathing in shallow, controlled pulls of air.
You survived today. That has to be enough.
I push away, cross the room, and sink onto my bed without bothering to turn on the lights. Dusk bleeds through the narrow window, painting the walls in gray-blue shadows.
My phone vibrates.
Once.
I freeze.
No one messages me. No one has my number except the academy database,
Aurora, and—
I tell myself not to jump to conclusions as I pull the phone from my pocket.
Unknown Number.
My pulse quickens.
I stare at the screen for a long moment, then open the message.
MIDNIGHT.
THE GAME BEGINS.
IF YOU WANT THE TRUTH ABOUT YOUR MOTHER, YOU WILL ATTEND.
WIN AND YOU GET ANSWERS.
LOSE AND YOU WERE NEVER MEANT TO KNOW.
My breath leaves me in a rush.
Mother. The word hits like a blade to the ribs.
My fingers tremble as I scroll. Another message appears.
LOCATION WILL BE SENT AT 11:45 PM.
COME ALONE.
TELL NO ONE.
The phone slips from my grasp and lands on the mattress beside me.
My ears ring. This has to be a lie.
A cruel trick. A test. A threat meant to scare me into doing something reckless.
My mother is dead.
I’ve lived my entire life believing that.
I watched the pack burn. I watched the sky glow orange while smoke swallowed everything I loved.
I watched the woman who raised me, who carried me through flames collapse with blood on her lips.
There was no one left.
I press my hands against my eyes, nails biting into my skin.
This academy is built on secrets. On power plays. On games that never end well for the weak.
And I am very aware of what I am here.
A cursed silver wolf. Alone. Unprotected.
Exactly the kind of prey these people enjoy breaking.
But…
My chest tightens.
What if it’s real?
What if somewhere, somehow my mother survived?
What if the truth was buried deliberately, hidden from me because knowing it would be dangerous?
My phone vibrates again.
I snatch it up instantly.
YOU HAVE BEEN WATCHED FOR A LONG TIME, ZYRA.
YOU WERE CHOSEN FOR A REASON.
My stomach churns. They know my name.
That sends a shiver straight down my spine.
I swing my legs off the bed and stand, pacing the small room like a caged animal. Each step is sharp, frantic, my thoughts spiraling.
If I go…I could be walking straight into a trap.
If I don’t..I might lose the only chance I’ll ever have to know the truth.
Midnight.
The word pulses in my head.
I glance at the clock.
9:17 PM.
Less than three hours.
Three hours to decide whether I’m brave or desperate enough to gamble my life on a message from an unknown sender.
I think of Dael. The way his eyes tracked me today, predatory and unreadable. The way Aurora warned me at lunch to stay away from him. The way fear ripples through entire hallways when his name is spoken too loudly.
If he knew about this…A strange certainty settles in my chest.
He wouldn’t let me go.
The thought surprises me.
Not because I believe he cares.
But because Dael Morozov doesn’t like things happening beyond his control.
And something tells me this game?
It’s not his idea.
I sit back down on the bed, shoulders hunched, staring at my hands.
I came here to survive. To study. To build a future strong enough that no one could ever burn my life down again.
But fate has never cared about what I want.
My phone buzzes one last time.
THE MASKS WILL SEE YOU.
DO NOT BE LATE.
Masks. My throat goes dry. I’ve heard whispers about masked gatherings. About wolves with painted faces and blood on their hands. About games where power is currency and mercy is a weakness.
This academy doesn’t just teach. It hunts.
I close my eyes.
I think of silver hair hidden under black dye. Of a name whispered like a curse. Of a past that refuses to stay buried.If my mother is alive..
I stand. Decision made.
My hands stop shaking. Whatever waits for me at midnight, Whatever monsters hide behind those masks.
I will face them. Because I am done being afraid of the dark.
And if this game is meant to break me. They’ve underestimated how much I’ve already lost. The clock ticks forward.
Midnight is coming and somewhere in this academy, wolves are preparing to play.
Whether I survive it is a question I will answer myself.
- Writer
