Blood Of Shadow
1237 Words
Chapter 5
The grand hall looked like a battlefield.
Broken crystal covered the floor.
Smoke drifted through the air.
Students whispered fearfully in every corner while professors inspected the damage left behind by the shadow beasts.
But nobody looked at the destruction for long.
They looked at Aretha.
She stood near the center of the hall surrounded by Liam, Nyra, Caspian, and Elias. Even with them protecting her, the distance between her and everyone else felt enormous.
Like an invisible wall had appeared.
Headmaster Orion descended the platform slowly.
His expression remained unreadable.
Yet his golden wolf eyes stayed fixed on Aretha.
“You four,” he said calmly to Liam and the others. “Escort the students out.”
Liam frowned slightly.
“And her?”
Orion’s gaze hardened.
“She comes with me.”
The atmosphere immediately became tense.
Nyra crossed her arms.
“That sounds suspicious.”
“Nyra,” Liam warned quietly.
“No, seriously,” she continued. “Five minutes ago the entire school practically tried to exile her with their eyes.”
Orion looked at Aretha again.
Then sighed.
“She is not under arrest.”
“Comforting,” Aretha muttered softly.
Orion ignored the comment.
“Selene is already waiting.”
At the mention of her mother, Aretha reluctantly nodded.
“Fine.”
The headmaster turned and walked toward the massive doors leading deeper into the academy.
After a brief hesitation, Aretha followed.
---
The deeper they walked into the academy, the quieter everything became.
The busy hallways disappeared behind them.
Soon only silence remained.
The corridor ahead was lined with ancient portraits of former academy leaders and magical family elders. Some paintings moved slightly, their eyes following Aretha carefully as she passed.
She hated it.
Finally, Orion stopped before a large wooden door marked with glowing silver runes.
The Headmaster’s Chamber.
The doors opened automatically.
Inside stood Selene.
The moment she saw Aretha, relief crossed her face.
She rushed forward immediately.
“Aretha!”
“I’m okay.”
Selene grabbed her shoulders anyway, checking for injuries.
Then her expression darkened.
“You used shadow magic.”
It wasn’t a question.
Aretha swallowed hard.
“I didn’t mean to.”
Orion closed the chamber doors behind them.
“You need to tell her the truth.”
Silence.
Selene slowly turned away.
“No.”
“People already suspect her bloodline,” Orion said firmly. “After tonight, rumors will spread across the entire city by morning.”
“She’s not ready.”
“She may never be ready,” Orion answered. “But the Dark Lord already knows she’s here.”
Aretha’s heart sank.
“What are you talking about?”
Nobody answered immediately.
That terrified her more.
Finally, Selene looked at her daughter with exhausted eyes.
“There’s something about your father I never told you.”
Aretha felt cold instantly.
The room suddenly seemed too small.
“My father…”
Selene’s hands trembled slightly.
“Kael wasn’t just a traveler from another magical family.”
Orion’s expression darkened further.
“He was born in the Dark Lord City.”
The words hit Aretha like ice water.
“No.”
Selene closed her eyes painfully.
“Yes.”
Aretha stepped backward slowly.
“That’s impossible.”
“It’s the truth.”
“No!” Her voice cracked. “My father wasn’t evil!”
“I know,” Selene said quickly.
“But he was still one of them.”
The room fell silent again.
Aretha’s thoughts spiraled violently.
Her father.
The kindest person she had ever known.
The man who taught her how to smile after nightmares.
The man who made terrible jokes while cooking dinner.
The man who used to tell her stories about stars and destiny.
A Dark Witch?
“No…” she whispered again.
Selene moved closer carefully.
“Kael was different.”
“Then why hide it from me?”
“Because they would’ve hunted you.”
Orion spoke quietly from behind them.
“The child of a Lumierre healer and a Dark bloodline has never existed before.”
Aretha looked toward him slowly.
“What does that mean?”
Orion hesitated.
“It means your existence breaks ancient laws.”
---
Meanwhile…
Far beneath the academy…
Inside hidden underground chambers untouched by time…
Ancient roots stretched endlessly through darkness.
And among them stood a figure.
Tall.
Covered in black robes.
Watching glowing symbols carved into the walls.
One symbol had awakened tonight.
The mark of prophecy.
The figure touched it gently.
Then smiled beneath the hood.
“At last…”
---
Back in the headmaster’s chamber, Aretha paced anxiously across the room.
“So everybody’s afraid of me because my father came from the Dark Lord City?”
“It’s more complicated than that,” Selene said softly.
“Then explain it!”
The frustration finally exploded from her chest.
“Ever since we arrived here, everyone keeps staring at me like I’m some kind of monster!”
Her silver eyes shimmered with emotion.
“The tree reacted to me.”
“The shadows attacked me.”
“And now you’re telling me my father belonged to some cursed bloodline?”
She laughed bitterly.
“What else are you hiding?”
Selene looked away.
That answer alone told Aretha everything.
“There’s more.”
Silence.
Then Orion spoke quietly.
“There is a prophecy.”
Aretha closed her eyes briefly.
Of course there was.
Every terrible situation apparently needed a prophecy.
“What prophecy?”
Orion walked toward one of the chamber windows overlooking Greenfield Lumierre.
“The Tree of Life is connected to every magical bloodline in existence.”
His voice became quieter.
“Centuries ago, Visionaries predicted that one day a child born from both light and shadow would either unite the realms…”
He turned toward her slowly.
“Or destroy them completely.”
Aretha felt her stomach twist.
“No.”
Selene stepped forward quickly.
“You are not a weapon, Aretha.”
“But the prophecy—”
“Does not control you,” Selene interrupted firmly.
Orion remained silent.
Which worried Aretha even more.
Because unlike her mother—
He clearly wasn’t certain.
Suddenly—
A sharp pain shot through Selene’s body.
She gasped violently.
Dark veins spread briefly across her neck before disappearing again.
“Mom!”
Aretha rushed forward as Selene nearly collapsed.
Orion caught her before she hit the floor.
The curse.
It was getting worse.
Black energy flickered beneath Selene’s skin while her breathing became uneven.
Aretha stared in horror.
“What’s happening to her?!”
Orion’s expression darkened heavily.
“She doesn’t have much time left.”
The world stopped.
Aretha looked at her mother in disbelief.
“No…”
Selene forced a weak smile despite the pain.
“It’s alright.”
“No, it’s not!”
Tears filled Aretha’s eyes immediately.
“There must be a cure!”
Orion and Selene exchanged a brief look.
That silence terrified her.
Then Orion finally spoke.
“There may be one.”
Hope flickered briefly inside Aretha.
“What is it?”
But before he could answer—
A violent explosion shook the academy.
BOOOOM!
The entire chamber trembled.
Alarms echoed throughout the building instantly.
Orion’s eyes widened.
“That came from the lower chambers.”
Another explosion followed.
And this time—
A scream echoed from somewhere beneath the academy.
Something had awakened underground.
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