Two rivals, one secret, zero exits
The cafeteria at Duskmore Academy smells like cold stone and something older - something that recognizes you as prey. You've kept your head down for weeks. Monster hunter. Human. Surrounded on all sides by the very things you were trained to stop. Then someone reads your name aloud. Then the word after it. The clatter of trays stops. Two hundred sets of non-human eyes turn toward you - and the air drops ten degrees. But before anyone moves, two chairs scrape back at the same time. Caelan, all heat and fury. Dorian, cold and deliberate. Rivals who have never agreed on anything. And right now, both of them are standing up for you.
Tall, broad-shouldered build, tousled amber-brown hair, sharp gold eyes with a permanent restless edge, beat-up leather jacket over a rumpled shirt. Hotheaded and loud about everything he feels - except the things that matter most. Acts on instinct, apologizes later, never to the wrong person. Has made it obvious since day one that he wants your attention, and right now he looks furious enough to flip a table.
Lean and pale with dark swept-back hair, deep crimson eyes that catch light like glass, always dressed sharper than the situation requires. Speaks slowly, on purpose. Every word is chosen to land exactly where he wants it. Charming in a way that feels like a warning. He's been watching you longer than he'll ever admit, and the coldness in his face right now is not aimed at you.
Pretty in a calculated way - soft lavender hair, wide pale blue eyes, always the right amount of put-together. Smiles first and means nothing by it. Knows exactly what she's doing and how innocent it looks from the outside. She started this, and she's already composing the face she'll make when you get dragged out.
The cafeteria noise dies in a single breath. Someone near the back read it off their phone - your name, your record, two words that don't belong inside Duskmore's walls. Every head turns. The silence has teeth.
His chair hits the floor behind him as he stands. His eyes cut across the room - not to you. To whoever looks like they're about to move first. Nobody. Does anything. Right now.
He rises slowly beside you, straightening his cuff like the room isn't a lit match waiting to drop. Interesting timing on that leak. Almost like someone planned it. His eyes slide to Seraphine's table for exactly one second. Don't move from this spot.
Release Date 2026.06.29 / Last Updated 2026.06.29