Thornhill Academy. Chapter 86

**Rhaziel**

The moon always did strange things to mortals. But even for a creature like me, one who had ruled over demons and nightmares for centuries, tonight felt different. The veil between realms was thinner. The air is heavier. Every heartbeat in this place sings like a drum, echoing through the dark folds of the world that I called home. I hadn’t come here for a ceremony or spectacle. I had come because of *her.* A week ago, I had been wandering the mortal realm, following the scent of terror. Fear is like music to my kind, the notes of despair and chords of agony. And this one… gods, it was exquisite. It was raw and powerful. Not the usual trickle of nightmares that seep from mortal minds, but a torrent of pure and primal dread that sent shivers down the spine of the shadows itself. I followed it through the cracks of dream and reality until I found the source. There. A room. A bed. A boy. But it wasn’t his terror that intrigued me. It was the creature feeding on it.

A wraith. It was pale and twisted, but wrong... It was different. I have worked with wraiths for longer than I care to count. I know the texture of their magic, the sharp, cold hunger that drives them. This one was not quite… itself. The energy tasted strange; it was soaked in something human and something ancient all at once. Its aura hummed with stolen light and had the rhythm of a heartbeat that did not belong to it. I stayed in the shadows as it fed. It drew the boys' fear from his dreams like nectar from a vein, draining every drop until his body finally went still. Then, sated, the wraith began to withdraw.

And that was when I saw it—It shimmered. Shifted and changed. One blink, and the wraith was gone. In its place stood a young woman. Her hair was as dark as night, her power clinging to her skin like mist. The air around her vibrated, as though the nightmare itself bowed to her will. I had seen monsters, gods, and kings, but never something like her. So, I followed. For seven nights, I walked behind her shadow, unseen but ever near. I watched her laugh with her friends, stumble through classes, and touch the boy with the golden eyes. I watched her feed again each night, the wraith peeling from her soul like a reflection from water, bound to her by something deeper than death. And each night, the pull grew stronger. The bond that only the Fates could weave began to hum beneath my ribs, ancient and undeniable. I knew what it meant, because I had been searching for centuries for this feeling. I knew who she was. My queen. My equal. The one meant to balance the darkness within me.

So, I came to the festival tonight. I came to see if the Fates agreed. When the moonlight began to descend, those silvery tendrils falling from the heavens like spun starlight, I already knew. The crowd gasped as the first light struck the chosen, each soul illuminated by fate’s own hand. I watched, waiting. And then I saw the silver light enter her. Allison Rivers. The light struck her chest, and I felt it like a thunderclap across my heart. The shadows around me pulsed in recognition, whispering her name. I watched as the energy within her split, curling and twisting like blue fire. One thread shot into the dragon beside her. Another into the hell hound. A third into the professor. A fourth into the boy she had been feeding her wraith on. And then there was the fifth. The last. Mine.

It did not know where to go, not yet. It wandered, confused, as if it could sense me but not reach me. I was still between worlds, my power anchored in shadow. So I stepped forward. The moment I crossed into the light, the bond found me. It struck with the sound of cracking heavens, slamming into my chest and roaring through my veins.

The crowd went silent. All that existed was her. The scent of her magic, the blue fire reflected in her eyes, the thrum of the bond resonating between our hearts. The sigils across my skin flared to life, pulsing in time with her heartbeat. I walked through the parting sea of bodies until I stood before her. My queen. My beloved. The one my soul had been chained to since before the dawn of creation. She looked up at me, wide-eyed, trembling and absolutely radiant. I tilted her chin with a single clawed finger, my lips curving into a slow, knowing smile.

“Hello,” I said, my voice deep as the void itself. “My Queen.”

And as the bond settled, I knew one thing with absolute certainty: My world had just changed forever.

The hound stormed away first, fury in his wake. The dragon followed, muttering curses under his breath, torn between chasing his friend and staying near his mate. He pressed one last kiss to her forehead, staking his territory like a fool and whispered something soft, something that made her smile. Then, finally, he left. And the moment he did, the shadows in the courtyard sighed with relief. The air stilled. The music faded into something distant. I watched her eyes follow him for a heartbeat longer. *Enough.* They’d had their time. The dragon. The hound. Even the damned professor. Now it was my turn. I raised a hand, letting the darkness ripple outward from my palm. The shadows obeyed instantly, sliding over the floor like spilled ink, rising and curling around her ankles, up her legs, soft as silk. She gasped, the sound small and sweet, and her blue eyes darted to me.

“Don’t be afraid,” I murmured. My voice came out low and coaxing, the kind of sound that made even the bravest creature bow its head. “You’re safe, my queen.”

She opened her mouth to speak, to question, perhaps, or to resist, but the shadows swept higher, curling around her waist, her shoulders, her throat. She didn’t fight. Some part of her knew. The bond recognised the call of its other half. I stepped closer, close enough to smell the faint trace of power that still lingered on her skin, the siphoned magic. A power that would burn the mortal world if left uncontained.

I reached out, brushed my thumb across her cheek. “You’ve spent enough time in cages, hummingbird,” I said softly. “It’s time you see what freedom truly looks like.”

And then the shadows consumed us both completely.