The Crimson Diary

THE ANCIENT'S MIND

Damon’s forehead was still resting against mine, his warm breath fanning across my lips. My pulse was racing so fast I could hear it ringing in my ears. The kiss had left my head spinning, and I opened my mouth to say something—anything—to make sense of what just happened between us.

Before a single word could come out, the door frame creaked.

"Well, well, well," Lucian’s smooth voice cut through the quiet room. He was leaning against the shattered doorframe with his arms crossed, looking at us with a knowing smirk. "I hear a couple of puppies tried to jump the fence, and the Patriarch had to throw them out the window."

I pulled back instantly, my cheeks burning with heat as I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. Damon stood up smoothly, his expression instantly shifting back to his cold, calm mask, though his dark eyes stayed on me for a second longer.

"They won't be coming back," Damon said coldly to Lucian.

"Good," Lucian said, stepping over a piece of broken wood on the carpet. "Because the morning bell is about to ring. Everyone is required to gather in the Vampire Grand Hall for class placements."

He looked at me with a friendly smile. "Get dressed, Elena. The werewolf pack has their own hall on the north wing, but all vampire fledglings need to be sorted today."

"Sorted?" I asked, pushing myself up from the floor.

"Class placement," Lucian explained.

"Ravenwood divides vampires into four main categories based on blood strength: The Neophytes for newly turned fledglings, The Sanguines for those with trace drops of ancient blood, The Umbras for standard vampires, and The Malakor for those with unstable or dark-hearted blood signatures. You need to take the blood-stone assessment to see where you fit."

Damon stood near the doorway, watching me silently. But as I looked at him, a strange sensation washed over me—like a faint, warm hum at the back of my mind.

She's still overwhelmed, Damon’s voice suddenly echoed directly inside my head, deep and clear. I need to make sure she stays close to me.

I blinked, gasping slightly as I turned to look at Damon. He hadn't opened his lips.

Did he just... speak in my head?! I thought frantically, staring at him.

Damon’s eyebrows twitched upward. His dark eyes widened slightly as he looked at me, a subtle look of shock passing over his face before he masked it.

After that kiss in the bedroom, the ancient mate bond between us had snapped completely into place. Damon could suddenly hear every single thought passing through my head, along with every surge of fear, confusion, or excitement in my chest. But keeping his cold composure, he didn't say a word about it to me or Lucian.

Twenty minutes later, I walked down the massive marble corridors toward the Vampire Grand Hall. The room was immense, filled with polished mahogany pews, glowing silver chandeliers, and hundreds of students dressed in dark academy uniforms.

As I walked in, a friendly girl with sleek short hair and pale blue eyes waved at me from a side bench.

"Hey! Over here!" she called out softly.

I walked over and sat down next to her. Beside her was a tall, quiet guy with silver-rimmed glasses who gave me a small wave.

"I'm Chloe," the girl whispered with a bright smile. "And this is Marcus. You must be the new girl everyone was talking about yesterday!"

"I'm Elena," I said, feeling a wave of relief at how welcoming she was. "Is the assessment scary?"

"Not at all," Marcus said in a low, gentle voice. "You just place your hand on the obsidian blood-stone at the front of the hall. It reads your blood signature and lights up with your placement color."

Up at the high podium in front of the hall stood the instructors—and my jaw nearly dropped. Standing right at the center in dark, tailored suits were Damon and Lucian.

"Wait... they teach here?" I whispered to Chloe, pointing subtly toward the front.

Chloe chuckled. "Yeah! Lucian teaches Combat Strategy, and Damon—well, Lord Damon is the Head Master of Blood History and Advanced Magic. He’s the oldest vampire alive, so nobody knows blood better than him."

Down near the front pews, I noticed Caleb and a few other wolves standing near the side exit doors, watching the proceedings. Damon stood tall at the podium, his posture strict and powerful.

I don't want to live up in that high tower alone, I thought to myself, looking around at Chloe and Marcus. I want a normal dorm room with friends like everyone else. I hope they put me in a regular student hostel.

At the podium, Damon’s hand tightened slightly on the wooden edge. He heard my exact thought echoing in his mind.

A hostel? Damon thought grimly, his chest tightening with protective instinct as his eyes flicked toward Caleb and the other wolves lurking nearby. With wolves and unpredictable fledglings roaming the halls? She needs to stay in the high tower where I can guard her.

Beside him, Caleb muttered something about making sure the new girl was kept in a safe hostel block, but Damon stayed silent, keeping his heavy protective instincts locked inside while listening to my thoughts.

"Elena of House Ravenwood!" the announcer called out from the front.

The hall fell dead silent. Hundreds of eyes turned to watch me as I stood up from the bench and walked down the long center aisle toward the glowing obsidian stone on the altar.

I swallowed hard, reaching out my trembling hand, and pressed my palm flat against the cold black stone.

For three seconds, nothing happened.

Then, the stone flared with a soft green light—the mark of The Neophytes, for newly turned vampires bitten by another.

"Neophyte classification," the announcer began to say.

Before he could finish, the obsidian stone violently cracked! A blinding, magnificent golden beam of light shot out from the crystal, illuminating the entire Grand Hall in a golden radiance. The stone vibrated so hard the altar shook.

Gasping broke out across the room. Students stood up from their seats in absolute shock. Golden light was the signature of the Ancients—a blood rank that hadn't been triggered in over a thousand years.

I gasped, pulling my hand back in shock. I had no idea why the stone reacted like that.

Up at the podium, Lucian and Damon exchanged a deep, quiet look. Only the two of them knew the truth: when I drank Damon’s blood in the woods to survive, his ancient Patriarch blood had fused directly into my veins, making me both a newly turned Neophyte and a bearer of pure Ancient power.

"Class placement confirmed," Lucian announced smoothly, stepping forward to break the stunned silence before panic broke out. "Elena will be placed in the Advanced Blood Studies block."

After the assembly ended, Chloe and Marcus ran up to me, their eyes wide with excitement.

"That was amazing!" Chloe squealed, grabbing my arm. "You broke the testing stone! You're definitely coming with us to the main student hostels."

They led me down the east wing to show me my new room. It was cozy, featuring a large window, two soft beds, a study desk, and a fireplace.

"You'll be sharing with me!" Chloe said happily, tossing her bag onto one of the beds. "It's so much better than staying isolated upstairs."

I smiled, feeling a sense of normal student life finally settling in.

I'm going to be just fine here, I thought happily, looking around the cozy room. I'm staying in the hostel with Chloe.

A three floors above, standing in the quiet corridor, Damon stood with his hands behind his back. My clear, happy thought echoed through his mind like a soft melody. He closed his eyes, letting out a low, quiet breath. He still wanted to lock the doors and keep me safely tucked away in his tower, but hearing how genuine and happy I felt in my mind, he chose to let me have my space—for now.