Someone was holding me down.
Underwater.
I couldn't breathe. My lungs screamed for air, my chest burning with desperate hunger.
I thrashed wildly—arms and legs kicking, nails clawing at the iron grip that refused to loosen. But whoever—or whatever—had me was too strong. My struggles only churned the water into froth, swallowing my frantic efforts.
If only I could break free. Just for a second. A sliver of space.
Then I could swim away. Far enough to escape.
I'd always been fast—faster than most, though never as fast as a siren. Just fast enough to save myself.
And then I could cast a spell, summon the magic that's always pulsing beneath my skin, to protect myself.
I clawed at the hand gripping me, my nails scraping against flesh. I felt skin tear beneath my desperate fingers, warm blood swirling into the icy water around me—but it was useless. His hold didn't loosen an inch.
Who—?
Who was trying to kill me?
Just minutes ago, I had been sitting peacefully by the lake behind Arcana Academy. The cool breeze and the gentle ripple of water had soothed my racing mind. It was my first day at the academy, and the overwhelming weight of this new life had driven me into the forest, where I found the lake bathed in moonlight, offering a rare moment of calm.
And now, that peaceful moment was threatening to cost me my life.
Someone had attacked me
I couldn't see his face—the darkness of the night and the murky water conspired to cloak his identity—but I knew it was a man. I could feel the brute strength in his hands, cold and unyielding.
I twisted and kicked, lungs burning, desperate for even a glimpse of him. But every time I raised my eyes, the shadows of the lake merged with the night sky, concealing him completely.
At first, I thought it was some cruel prank—a twisted joke someone was playing on me.
But no. I wasn't close enough with anyone at the academy for pranks like this. I'd barely been here a week. No one knew me well enough.
No one should hate me so much.
Not enough to try to drown me.Water filled my mouth as I struggled to think, to remember.
What had I done?
Had I accidentally stepped on someone's toes in the cafeteria? Bumped into a few people in the hallways? Maybe annoyed someone unknowingly?
But none of it—none—was a reason to hold me under the lake like this.
Bubbles escaped my lips, popping sharply as panic clawed relentlessly at my throat, threatening to suffocate me.
Someone wanted me dead.I clawed at my attacker with both arms, fingers grabbing at the wet fabric, skin, anything I could reach. If I was going to die here, I'd at least drag them under with me—see their face before it was too late.
My nails gouged deeper. My arms quivered from the strain, yet the grip on me didn't loosen, unyielding and savage.
Think.
Think.
What had I done to deserve this? Some punishment, some mistake? My mind raced through every encounter at the academy—every accidental bump, every minor insult. Nothing. Nothing that could justify this nightmare.
Then a single, fleeting thought flickered through the haze of panic:
Maybe they've mistaken me for someone else.But how could I tell them? How could I speak, plead, explain—when every breath burned like fire and darkness crept in at the edges of my vision?
The lake pressed down, cold and endless, squeezing the life from me as my strength began to slip away.
Water surged into my mouth and nose, stabbing at my lungs, forcing me to thrash harder. My body screamed for air even as my arms flailed helplessly.
Then—through the blur of bubbles and moonlight—a splash. A face.
A beautiful, terrible face.
For a heartbeat, time slowed. Eyes like shadows, features too flawless to be human. Recognition stabbed through me, sharp and cold.
Why? Why was he trying to kill me?I kicked, clawed, fought again, but my limbs felt like lead.
My strength was draining, slipping away with every frantic movement.
The lake closed in around me, muffling sound and thought alike.
Darkness crept at the edges of my vision, curling inward like tendrils of smoke.
And then, as my body finally stopped struggling, it embraced me.
Darkness.
1Teeth sank into my arm.
The sharp pain jolted me awake, forcing my eyes open.
I was still underwater—but I wasn't alone.
A massive wolf swam beside me, its fur so dark it swallowed the moonlight, a shadow given form. Its eyes glowed faintly, like distant stars shimmering through the depths.
For a heartbeat, I forgot to struggle. The sight was too unreal, too impossible.
Then it tugged—hard—its fangs locked around my arm as it dragged me upward through the water.
The pressure in my chest built, my mind too dazed to understand what was happening. Was it saving me… or finishing what the attacker started?
The question never found an answer.
The world tilted, sound fading into a dull roar, and I let the darkness take me again.
"How could you save her?" someone shouted.
I lay on the grass, coughing water, half-awake and half-drowned. Every breath burned. The world tilted between sharp sound and muffled silence.
It was him.
The same face from the lake—handsome, terrible, impossible. The one who had been trying to drown me.
"I'm going to kill her," he bellowed again, voice raw with fury.
Panic slammed through me. I forced my limbs to move, to crawl away from him, but my body betrayed me. The grass slid under my palms; my vision blurred; the edges of everything darkened.
I tried to fight, to pull myself upright, to find a way away—but the lake's cold fingers still clung to me. Darkness rolled in like a tide.
I gasped once more and then sank back into black.