BlackMoor Academy

The Fang Wing

The words carved into the stone wall seemed to pulse beneath the flickering emergency lights.

SHADOWBORN HEIR

Nyra couldn’t breathe.

Around her, students backed away slowly like she might suddenly become the most dangerous thing in the room.

Maybe she already was.

The Warden had disappeared.

But the fear it left behind still clung to the arena like smoke.

Kaiden stepped directly in front of the carved message, blocking it from the others.

Too late.

Everyone had already seen it.

Sable grabbed Nyra’s arm hard enough to hurt.

“Tell me you know what that means.”

“I literally wish I did.”

“That’s somehow worse.”

Headmaster Voss descended slowly from the arena platform, dark coat dragging across the stone floor.

Calm.

Always calm.

Nyra hated it.

“The arena is dismissed,” he announced smoothly.

Nobody moved.

Most students still stared at Nyra like she might explode.

Kaiden’s voice cut sharply through the silence.

“You heard him. Move.”

That got them moving.

Students immediately rushed toward the exits whispering frantically.

“Shadowborn heir—”

“I thought they were extinct—”

“The Warden recognized her—”

“This is bad…”

Nyra wanted to disappear.

Unfortunately Blackmoor clearly wasn’t interested in making her life easier.

Kaiden grabbed her wrist again before she could follow the crowd.

“Come on.”

Nyra yanked free instantly.

“You seriously need to stop dragging me places.”

“You seriously need to stop almost dying.”

“I wasn’t the one who released nightmare creatures into the school!”

Kaiden’s jaw tightened.

Something about her words hit a nerve.

Interesting.

Before she could push further, Headmaster Voss spoke quietly behind them.

“Mr. Draven.”

Kaiden went still.

Not scared.

Tense.

The Headmaster folded his hands behind his back.

“You seem unusually invested in Miss Vale.”

Nyra immediately looked between them.

Oh.

There was definitely history here.

Kaiden’s expression turned unreadable.

“She’s Fang.”

“That’s not what concerns me.”

Silence.

The emergency lights flickered black again.

For one brief second, Nyra could’ve sworn she saw silver eyes watching them from the dark arena tunnels below.

Then they vanished.

Headmaster Voss’s gaze shifted toward Nyra.

“You should be careful,” he said softly.

Nyra frowned. “Of what?”

The Headmaster smiled faintly.

“Everyone.”

A chill crawled down her spine.

Then he walked away.

The moment he disappeared into the shadows, Kaiden grabbed Nyra’s wrist again.

This time harder.

“We’re leaving.”

Nyra glared at him while Sable hurried nervously beside them.

“You know,” Nyra snapped, “normal people usually explain things instead of acting cryptic all the time.”

“You think anyone in Blackmoor is normal?”

Fair point.

The halls were chaos.

Students crowded the corridors whispering as they passed. Some stared openly at Nyra while others avoided eye contact completely.

Fear.

Definitely fear now.

A group of Ash Wolves immediately moved aside the second Kaiden approached.

One boy muttered: “That’s the Shadowborn girl.”

Nyra rolled her eyes tiredly. “I’ve been here two days and already have a creepy nickname.”

“You have several,” Sable informed her.

“That’s deeply upsetting.”

Kaiden led them deeper into the academy until the halls changed completely.

The stone walls grew darker here.

Older.

Black Fang symbols were carved into nearly every doorway.

Students dressed in black uniforms lounged through the corridors, most carrying visible weapons.

The Fang faction.

And judging by the way everyone immediately straightened when Kaiden appeared—

he ruled this place.

One girl sitting on a table smirked as Nyra passed.

“So this is the girl causing chaos.”

Nyra smiled tightly. “Nice to meet you too.”

The girl’s eyes flickered briefly toward the shadows moving faintly beneath Nyra’s feet.

Her smirk disappeared instantly.

Yeah.

Nyra was getting really tired of that reaction.

Kaiden finally stopped outside a massive black door at the end of the corridor.

“This is your room now.”

Nyra blinked. “Excuse me?”

Sable looked horrified.

“Oh absolutely not.”

Kaiden ignored both of them and shoved the door open.

The room inside was enormous compared to the tiny dorm Nyra shared with Sable.

Dark walls.

Massive windows overlooking the forest.

Weapons hanging beside bookshelves.

And one bed.

Nyra stared.

Then very slowly looked at Kaiden.

“No.”

Kaiden leaned casually against the doorway.

“You’re safer here.”

“I would literally be safer in traffic.”

Sable made a choking sound trying not to laugh.

Kaiden’s golden eyes narrowed slightly.

“The Warden is hunting you.”

“That thing hunts everyone.”

“No,” he said quietly.

“It came for you.”

The room fell silent.

Nyra hated that he was probably right.

Kaiden stepped closer slowly.

Too close again.

“You don’t understand what’s happening yet,” he said softly. “But until I figure it out—”

Nyra crossed her arms.

“You’re kidnapping me?”

A faint smirk tugged at his mouth.

“Protecting.”

“Those are not the same thing.”

“They can be.”

Before Nyra could argue again—

a sharp pain exploded suddenly behind her eyes.

She gasped hard, stumbling backward as another vision slammed into her mind.

Dark tunnels beneath Blackmoor.

Chains hanging from the ceiling.

A little girl crying.

And someone whispering:

“If the heir survives, Blackmoor falls.”

Nyra’s breathing turned uneven.

The shadows beneath her feet lashed violently across the floor.

Kaiden caught her instantly before she collapsed.

“Nyra.”

His voice sounded distant.

The vision blurred again—

Then suddenly—

a pair of silver eyes opened in the darkness of her mind.

And a voice whispered:

“He cannot protect you from what’s waking below.”

Kaiden’s grip tightened around her arms as the shadows slowly settled across the floor again.

“Nyra.”

His voice sounded sharper now.

Closer.

The silver eyes vanished from her mind instantly, leaving only the pounding ache behind her temples.

Nyra sucked in a shaky breath.

The room came back into focus slowly.

Kaiden stood directly in front of her, one hand still steadying her waist while Sable hovered nearby looking deeply concerned.

“That looked horrifying,” Sable said.

Nyra laughed weakly. “Good to know I’m suffering aesthetically.”

Nobody smiled.

Kaiden’s golden eyes searched her face carefully.

“What did you see?”

Nyra hesitated.

The problem was…

she didn’t know how much she should tell him.

Or if she should trust him at all.

But something in his expression stopped her from lying completely.

“Tunnels,” she admitted quietly. “Chains. Someone talking about an heir.”

Kaiden went completely still.

Sable frowned immediately. “What heir?”

Neither of them answered.

Which was answer enough.

Nyra stepped away from Kaiden before she noticed how warm his hands felt against her waist.

Dangerous thought.

Very dangerous.

“I’m tired,” she muttered. “And apparently cursed. Can we continue the terrifying conversation tomorrow?”

Sable pointed toward the door immediately.

“Yes. Excellent idea. I support emotional avoidance.”

Kaiden ignored her completely.

“You’re staying here tonight.”

Nyra stared at him.

“You keep saying things like I’ll magically become cooperative.”

“You keep surviving things that should kill you.”

“That feels unrelated.”

“It’s not.”

The room fell quiet again.

Rain hammered softly against the tall windows overlooking the forest outside. Far below, lightning illuminated the mountains surrounding Blackmoor like giant shadows.

Nyra crossed her arms defensively.

“You still haven’t explained why everyone’s acting like ‘Shadowborn’ is some horrifying thing.”

Kaiden’s jaw tightened slightly.

“Because it is.”

Helpful.

Nyra rolled her eyes.

“You know, for someone who talks constantly, you somehow explain absolutely nothing.”

Sable snorted.

Kaiden shot her a look.

She immediately pretended to study the ceiling.

Coward.

Kaiden exhaled slowly before walking toward the window.

For the first time since she’d met him, he looked uncertain.

Not angry.

Not dangerous.

Just tired.

“The Shadowborn were a bloodline,” he said quietly. “Old wolves. Powerful ones.”

Nyra frowned. “What kind of powerful?”

Kaiden glanced back at her.

“The kind people feared enough to erase.”

A chill crawled down her spine.

“What happened to them?”

“No one knows for sure.”

Lie.

Nyra could hear it in his voice immediately.

Before she could call him out, a sudden knock echoed through the room.

Three sharp knocks.

Kaiden’s entire posture changed instantly.

Alert.

Deadly.

“Stay here,” he ordered.

Nyra opened her mouth to argue automatically—

Then the door burst open.

A Fang student stumbled inside covered in blood.

“Kaiden—”

The boy nearly collapsed trying to breathe.

“There’s something in the lower halls.”

The room went still.

Kaiden moved instantly. “What happened?”

The boy swallowed hard.

“It slaughtered two guards near the west tunnels.” His voice shook slightly. “And it keeps saying her name.”

Nyra’s stomach dropped.

Kaiden looked furious now.

Not surprised.

Furious.

“Lock the Fang wing down,” he snapped immediately. “No one leaves alone.”

The boy nodded quickly before disappearing again.

Sable looked pale.

“I officially hate this school.”

Nyra barely heard her.

Because from somewhere deep

beneath Blackmoor Academy—

she heard chains rattling again.

And this time…

they were getting closer.

The chains rattled again.

Closer.

Nyra stood frozen in the center of Kaiden’s room while the sound echoed faintly through the walls of Blackmoor Academy.

Sable looked ready to panic.

“I hate that noise,” she whispered.

Kaiden moved toward the door slowly, every muscle in his body tense.

The dangerous part wasn’t that he looked scared.

It was that he looked prepared.

Like this wasn’t the first time something beneath Blackmoor had hunted people through the halls.

Another distant scream echoed somewhere below the Fang wing.

Nyra’s stomach twisted.

“That sounded close.”

“It was,” Kaiden replied grimly.

The emergency lights flickered black again.

Then the academy speakers crackled overhead.

A distorted voice echoed through the halls:

“Lockdown remains active. All students stay inside faction territory.”

The message repeated twice before static swallowed the sound.

Sable crossed her arms tightly.

“Okay, great. Amazing. Love that for us.”

Nyra barely heard her.

Because the chains had stopped rattling.

Silence settled heavily across the room.

Too heavily.

Kaiden noticed too.

His expression darkened instantly.

“Get away from the windows.”

Nyra frowned. “Why—”

Something slammed into the glass.

The entire wall of windows exploded inward.

Sable screamed.

Nyra threw her arms over her face as shards of glass tore through the room.

A massive dark shape crashed onto the floor.

Chains dragged violently across stone.

The Warden.

Up close, it was worse.

Huge.

Twisted.

Its wolf skull mask looked fused directly into flesh while glowing silver eyes burned from the darkness beneath it. Thick chains wrapped around its body like restraints someone had tried—and failed—to keep in place.

The creature rose slowly.

Its head tilted toward Nyra.

Recognition flashed in its silver eyes immediately.

Kaiden shifted without hesitation.

Bones cracked violently as his massive black wolf lunged straight at the Warden.

The collision shattered half the room.

Nyra stumbled backward as the two creatures tore across the floor in a frenzy of claws and snarls.

The Warden was stronger.

She realized it instantly.

Kaiden’s wolf slammed into the wall hard enough to crack stone.

The Warden barely moved.

Chains whipped through the air violently as the creature turned back toward Nyra.

Hunting.

No.

Claiming.

The realization chilled her blood.

“Nyra move!” Sable screamed.

The Warden lunged.

Nyra reacted on instinct.

Darkness exploded from beneath her feet.

Shadows shot across the room like living smoke, wrapping violently around the Warden’s chains midair.

The creature froze instantly.

Not trapped.

Listening.

Its silver eyes widened beneath the skull mask.

Then slowly—

it knelt before her.

The entire room went silent.

Even Kaiden froze.

Nyra stared at the creature in horror.

“What is happening?”

The Warden lowered its head completely.

Submission.

The shadows around Nyra’s hands pulsed darker.

Stronger.

And suddenly—

she heard the creature’s voice inside her head.

Not broken this time.

Clear.

Ancient.

“The heir has returned.”

Nyra’s breathing stopped.

Images slammed violently into her mind—

A throne made of black stone.

Wolves bowing beneath a blood moon.

A woman with silver eyes touching Nyra’s face gently.

And beneath Blackmoor Academy—

something enormous waking in the dark.

Nyra gasped sharply as the vision vanished.

The Warden looked up slowly.

Then its voice echoed aloud through the destroyed room.

“The Hollow King rises.”

Kaiden’s face lost all color.

And somewhere deep beneath the academy—

something roared back.