KING OF IVORY AND BLOOD

Welcome to Aurelius University

SERAPHINA VOSS

The bus hissed to a stop, and for a second, I couldn't make myself stand. Through the dusty window, I could see the massive stone arch that welcomed every new student to Aurelius University. I'd seen photographs of those gates countless times, but none of them prepared me for this. They were taller, grander, almost intimidating, as though they were silently asking every newcomer the same question.

Are you worthy of being here?

My fingers tightened around the strap of my backpack.

"I made it," I whispered, though I wasn't sure whether I was speaking to myself or to the man whose photograph rested safely inside my bag. He is my father. Dr. Elias Voss.

He had dreamed of seeing me walk through these gates, but life had taken him away before that dream could come true, but today, I carried it for both of us.

The driver glanced over his shoulder. "Young lady, this is the last stop."

I blinked and forced a smile.

"Sorry."

I climbed down from the bus, and the warm morning air wrapped around me immediately. Cars lined both sides of the road, parents hurried after their children with suitcases almost as big as they were as student volunteers in bright blue shirts shouted directions through portable megaphones.

"Registration this way!"

"Hostel clearance to the left!"

"Faculty of Engineering, keep moving!"

The place buzzed with life. Everyone around me looked excited and certain. But i wasn't.

I shifted my suitcase onto the pavement and took one slow breath. This wasn't just another university, this was Aurelius.

The place where presidents had studied, where billionaires had launched companies from tiny hostel rooms, where students came chasing impossible dreams and where, if the scholarship committee hadn't believed in me, I would have never been standing.

I reached into my backpack and pulled out the small photograph I always carried. The edges were worn from years of being folded and unfolded.

Dad stood beside me in his white lab coat, smiling as though nothing in the world could ever go wrong.

I smiled back at the photograph.

"I'll graduate with first-class honors," I murmured. "I'll build the life you wanted for me."

Then, after a brief pause, I added quietly,

"I promise."

I slipped the photograph back into my notebook and started walking toward the registration center, unaware that before this day ended, someone on this campus would already know my name.

The registration center occupied almost an entire block. White tents stretched across the open field, each marked with bold signs directing students to different faculties. The line for my faculty snaked around two corners, and for a brief moment, I wondered if classes would start before I reached the front.

A girl standing behind me let out an exaggerated sigh.

"If this line gets any longer, we'll graduate before we register."

A few people laughed.

I smiled politely before returning my attention to the documents in my hands. My admission letter, birth certificate and scholarship confirmation.

Everything had to be perfect. I couldn't afford mistakes. Scholarships came with expectations, and I had promised myself I wouldn't give anyone a reason to regret choosing me.

Nearly two hours later, I finally stepped away from the last registration desk with a student file tucked beneath my arm.

"Female Hostel, Block C," the administrator said, handing me a key attached to a small plastic tag.

"Your room number is 212. Next."

I thanked her and walked outside, relieved to have finished the hardest part of the day.

Five minutes later, I was completely lost. Every road looked the same and every building seemed larger than the last.

Students crossed paths in every direction, each apparently knowing exactly where they were going except me.

I unfolded the campus map for what felt like the tenth time.

"Block C..." I muttered.

The map looked simple enough, but the campus didn't.

I approached a passing student. "Excuse me, could you tell me where the female hostel is?"

He barely slowed.

"Straight ahead."

I walked straight ahead.

The road split into three different directions. "So... that wasn't very helpful."

I laughed quietly at myself and pulled my suitcase along another path lined with flowering trees. The deeper I went, the quieter it became.

Then someone crashed into me. Our books flew through the air and my suitcase tipped sideways.

"Oh!"

"I'm so sorry!"

I immediately knelt to gather the scattered books, my face burning with embarrassment.

"No, no," another voice said between laughs. "I wasn't looking at where I was going either."

I looked up.

The girl opposite me had bright eyes that seemed permanently cheerful. A loose curl had escaped her ponytail, and she made no effort to push it back. Instead, she smiled.

The kind that made it impossible not to smile back.

"I think we just set the record for the fastest accident between freshers."

Despite myself, I laughed.

"I guess we did."

She extended her hand.

"I'm Cassia."

I accepted it." Seraphina."

"Nice to officially meet the person who almost knocked me unconscious."

"I barely touched you."

"Barely?" She pretended to rub her shoulder dramatically. "I'll be telling this story for years."

I shook my head, laughing again.

She wasn't serious.

As we gathered the remaining books, her eyes landed on the plastic tag hanging from my hostel key.

"Block C?"

I nodded. "You too?"

Her grin widened.

"Looks like fate enjoys causing traffic accidents."

Relief spread through me.

"Please tell me you actually know where we're supposed to be going."

Cassia hesitated.

"... Not exactly." I stared at her.

She stared back.

Then we burst into laughter at the same time.

A student volunteer nearby noticed our confusion.

"The female hostel?" he called.

We both nodded enthusiastically.

He pointed toward another road. "Second junction, turn right, then keep walking until you see the blue building."

Cassia gave him a dramatic salute.

"You, sir, are a hero."

As we continued walking together, conversation came surprisingly easily.

"So," she asked, "what are you studying?"

"Economics."

"Ooh, future finance genius."

I smiled. "Hopefully."

"And you're on scholarship too?"

I looked at her, surprised.

"How did you know?"

"You've looked at your scholarship letter at least five times since we met."

I blinked. "Have I?"

"You have."

I laughed softly.

"I guess I'm still afraid someone will tell me there was a mistake."

Cassia's expression softened.

"There wasn't."

Her answer came so naturally that it caught me off guard.

"You earned your place here."

Something about the confidence in her voice settled the anxiety I'd carried all morning.

"Thank you."

She shrugged.

"We freshers have to look out for each other."

We continued along the tree-lined walkway until we noticed an elderly cleaner struggling to push a trolley loaded with heavy cartons.

Several students walked around him without slowing down.

Cassia glanced at me.

"We're thinking the same thing, aren't we?"

I had already changed direction.

"Sir," I called, "may we help you?"

The old man looked genuinely surprised.

"You don't have to."

"We know."

Together, we lifted the remaining boxes onto the trolley.

The old man's lined face relaxed into a grateful smile.

"May God bless both of you."

"It's nothing," Cassia replied.

"No," he said quietly. "These days, kindness is never nothing."

His eyes lingered on us for a moment before drifting toward a weathered building standing alone beyond a row of old trees.

Then he spoke in a voice so low I almost missed it.

"This university rewards brilliance..."

He paused.

"But it tests good hearts."

I followed his gaze toward the old building.

Unlike every other structure on campus, it looked forgotten. The windows were covered in dust, the walls had faded with age. Iron chains hung across the entrance.

Something about it made the hairs on the back of my neck rise.

"What building is that?" I asked.

The old man's smile disappeared.

"You'll learn."

Before I could ask another question, he thanked us again and slowly pushed the trolley away.

I stood watching the abandoned building for a few seconds longer.

For reasons, I couldn't explain... It felt as though it was watching me back.

Cassia nudged my shoulder.

"You've been staring at that building for almost a minute."

I blinked, pulling my attention away.

"Sorry. It just feels... strange."

She followed my gaze before shrugging.

"Every old university has at least one creepy building. It gives the place character."

"I don't think 'creepy' is the word I'd use."

"What would you use?"

I thought about it. "... Lonely."

The answer surprised even me.

The building didn't look haunted, it looked forgotten. As if it had once mattered to someone, only to be abandoned and erased from everyone's memory.

A gust of wind swept through the pathway, rustling the branches overhead. Dry leaves danced across the pavement before settling against the chained gate and for a split second...I thought I saw movement behind one of the dusty windows.

My breath caught. I blinked, it was nothing and just my imagination.

"Come on," Cassia said, already walking ahead. "If we don't unpack soon, we'll be living out of our suitcases for the next semester."

I forced myself to laugh and hurried after her. Maybe I was simply tired, it had been a long journey.

The female hostel was far livelier than I expected. The courtyard buzzed with conversation.

Parents carried bags upstairs while younger siblings chased each other across the compound. Someone had connected a speaker near the entrance, and upbeat music floated through the warm afternoon air.

Girls stood outside comparing departments, discussing hostel rules, and exchanging phone numbers as though they had known one another for years. Everything felt... alive.

I couldn't help smiling.

"This is exactly how I imagined university," I murmured.

Cassia looked around dramatically. "Minus the endless queues."

"And the almost-fatal collision."

She laughed.

"I'm still considering suing you."

"You'd lose."

"I probably would."

Our room was on the second floor. Room 212.

The moment we stepped inside, I felt a wave of relief. It wasn't luxurious.

Two neatly arranged beds stood against opposite walls. Each came with a reading table, a bookshelf, and a small wardrobe.

A wide window overlooked the campus gardens, where students wandered beneath rows of flowering trees.

Sunlight poured into the room, making it feel warm despite its simplicity.

"I call the bed near the window!" Cassia announced.

I chuckled.

"I was going to let you have it anyway."

She placed a hand dramatically over her heart.

"You are a wonderful roommate."

"I've known you for less than two hours."

"And you already understand me."

Shaking my head, I wheeled my suitcase toward the other side of the room.

For the next hour, we unpacked.

Cassia hummed happily as she arranged her clothes. She talked almost nonstop. About secondary school, about how she'd almost missed her admission interview because she'd boarded the wrong bus, about her excitement for university life.

I mostly listened not because I disliked talking but because I enjoyed hearing people when they forgot they were trying to impress anyone.

Cassia wasn't pretending to be someone else.

She was simply... herself and that made her easy to like.

When I finally finished arranging my books, I reached carefully into my backpack and removed the small framed photograph of my father.

For a moment, I simply looked at it. His smile hadn't changed and neither had mine.

I placed the frame gently on my reading table.

"Who's that?" Cassia asked softly.

"My dad."

She walked closer.

"He looks kind."

"He is." I smiled faintly.

"He believed education could change everything."

Cassia noticed the sadness in my voice but, to her credit, didn't ask questions that didn't belong to her. Instead, she smiled warmly.

"I think he'd be proud of you."

I swallowed the lump forming in my throat.

"I hope so."

A loud knock echoed through the corridor.

Moments later, a female student wearing an orientation badge stepped into the doorway.

"Attention, freshers!"

Conversations immediately stopped.

"The official welcome ceremony begins at four o'clock in the university amphitheater."

She smiled.

"Attendance is compulsory."

The room instantly came alive again.

Cassia stared at herself. "Hmm."

"What?"

"I can't decide whether I look like a future CEO or someone who hasn't slept in three days."

I laughed.

"You look fine."

"That's not reassuring."

Five minutes later, she was standing in front of my wardrobe.

"Do you have a hairpin?"

I blinked.

"You've unpacked for exactly one hour."

"I know."

"And you've already lost yours?"

"...Maybe."

I opened a small pouch and handed her one.

She gasped dramatically.

"My hero!"

"You owe me."

"I'll buy you lunch."

"When?"

She smiled innocently.

"Eventually."

I couldn't stop laughing.

Maybe university wasn't going to be as lonely as I'd feared.

The amphitheater was unlike anything I'd ever seen.

Rows upon rows of seats stretched toward an enormous stage decorated with the university's blue-and-gold colors as freshers filled almost every available space.

Excitement rippled through the crowd like electricity.

The Vice Chancellor welcomed us with a speech about excellence, discipline, innovation, and leadership.

Several professors introduced themselves, and student leaders received loud applause.

I listened carefully.

This wasn't just another ceremony.

It was the beginning of a new chapter in my life.

Halfway through the program, however, the atmosphere shifted. Not dramatically, just enough for me to notice.

Conversations around us suddenly quietened as all heads turned toward one of the side entrances.

Curious, I followed everyone's gaze. A young man walked into the amphitheater.

He wasn't surrounded by security, he wasn't dressed extravagantly. He wore a crisp white shirt with dark trousers and a wristwatch. Nothing more, yet something about him commanded attention without asking for it and even lecturers paused to greet him.

Several students whispered excitedly.

Cassia leaned closer. "That's Kael D'Vante."

"The entrepreneur?" someone behind us whispered.

"The billionaire's son." "I heard he turned down international investors."

"My sister says companies compete to hire him."

I glanced at him again.

He acknowledged a few greetings with polite nods before quietly taking a seat several rows away. No arrogance and no attempt to attract attention.

That made people watch him even more.

"What faculty is he in?" I whispered.

"Business Innovation."

Cassia smiled knowingly.

"Campus legend."

I shrugged lightly.

"He just looks like another student."

She laughed.

"Trust me." "He's not."

I didn't know why.

But something told me our paths would cross again.

I simply had no idea how soon.

The sun had begun sinking by the time the ceremony ended. Golden light stretched across the campus lawns as students lingered beneath Aurelius University's iconic clock tower, laughing, taking photographs, and celebrating the beginning of a new chapter in their lives.

Cassia nudged my shoulder.

"Come on."

"Where?"

"We're exploring."

I laughed and followed her.

We wandered through the Innovation Center, where students eagerly discussed business ideas and startup projects. We admired the grand library with its towering glass walls and endless rows of books that made my heart race with excitement. Then we stopped beside a beautiful fountain where students tossed coins into the water while making wishes.

Everything about Aurelius University felt larger than life.

For the first time in a long while, I allowed myself to believe that maybe this place could become my home. But as we continued walking, something caught my attention.

Hidden behind a cluster of ancient trees stood an old administrative building and unlike every other structure on campus, it looked abandoned.

I slowed to a stop.

"What is that building?" I asked quietly.

Before Cassia could answer, a senior student walking past noticed where I was looking.

"Don't bother."

I turned toward him.

"Why?"

He glanced at the building before looking back at me.

"Nobody goes there anymore."

"What happened?"

For the briefest moment, hesitation crossed his face.

Then he forced a smile. "You'll hear stories."

Without saying another word, he walked away.

I watched him disappear down the pathway before looking back at the building.

Cassia gently tugged at my sleeve. "Forget it."

I nodded.

"I know."

But for reasons I can't explain... I looked back one more time.

For the briefest instant, I thought I saw someone standing behind one of the shattered windows. A dark figure who was completely still and watching me. When I blinked, the figure was gone.

A chill ran down my spine.

"Seraphina?" Cassia called.

I quickly tore my eyes away from the building. "Coming."

I tried convincing myself that it had been my imagination but still, the uneasy feeling stayed with me for the rest of the evening.

By the time we returned to our hostel, exhaustion had finally caught up with me. The orientation had been exciting, but it had also been overwhelming.

I unpacked the last of my belongings and carefully placed my father's framed photograph on the bedside table.

His familiar smile stared back at me.

"I made it, Dad," I whispered softly.

"I finally made it."

A lump formed in my throat.

I switched off the light and was just about to climb into bed when I heard a faint sound.

Shhh...

Something slid beneath the door.

I froze and, slowly, I walked across the room.

A folded piece of paper lay on the floor. My heart began to beat faster.

I picked it up. There was no name, no signature, no indication of who had sent it, only one sentence was written across the page in neat, deliberate handwriting.

If you truly loved your father... leave Aurelius University before it's too late.

The words stole the air from my lungs. My fingers tightened around the note.

What?

Who would send something like this?

How did they know about my father?

Without thinking, I threw the door open. The hallway was empty, only the distant laughter of students echoed through the hostel as doors opened and closed farther down the corridor.

Whoever had left the note was gone. I looked down at the message again. The handwriting was calm, careful and intentional. It wasn't a prank, someone wanted me to read those words and someone knew something about my father that I didn't.

I slowly closed the door and locked it.

For the first time since arriving at Aurelius University...I felt afraid.

Outside, beyond the glowing hostel windows, somewhere near the abandoned administrative building, a lone figure stood silently in the shadows watching and waiting.

Then, without a sound, the figure disappeared into the darkness.