SERAPHINA’S POVThe entire day passes by like a breeze, yet I'm mostly surprised by how well I'm able to hold myself up until the final bell releases us from this educational prison cell. Not once do I see anyone I know; it's almost as if they've all been abducted by aliens. This only makes today feel all the more lonely, or maybe it's the karma I get for not telling anyone what day it is. Being strong is harder than I realize from making the decision earlier today, and I decide I want nothing of it. Instead, I yearn to return home, to Artemis, to hug him and spend the rest of this uneventful day with him.The thought alone is enough to drive me, pushing me to head home faster than I normally would—speed walking instead of strolling. My heart beats faster the moment I see the door, sprinting towards it and stepping inside, only to be greeted by the dark, dull room with all the lights turned off. Has he not gotten back yet? My heart drops instantly, hit by another wave of d
SERAPHINA’S POVI know tonight is supposed to be more of a friendly get-together than a party. I also know Artemis would never invite her, which means she must have found her way in all on her own. She sips at her drink, gulping down the fruit punch and drawing my eyes to her bony neck that bobs with every swallow. She looks dehydrated, hiding the rest of her sickly body in thicker clothes than what she used to wear before. "Aren't we friends, Hawthrone? I used to think we were," she responds, her eyes playful, watching me as if this is some kind of game for her."Cut the bullshit. We both know we were anything but friends. You cut that chance before it could happen," I retort, recalling the mind games she played with me back then, how easily I had fallen because I desperately wanted to see the good in her.Her eyes roll before she drops the drink on the counter and looks at me, folding her arms below her chest. "I see you’re enjoying filling my shoes. The thrill and power
SERAPHINA’S POVI walk back into the building and into the party, closing the door behind me. Only, the second I walk in, Jasper wraps his hands around my shoulders, pulling me forward and towards the crowd that now seems to be facing the both of us. I'm hit with the feeling that something was going on before I walked in. "Attention, everyone!" He yells loud enough, leading me to the center of the room and into the middle of the crowd, while the music gets turned off. "What are you doing?" I ask, feeling my nerves getting riled up.The discomfort from my headache, coupled with all the eyes directed at me, has me feeling uncomfortable and distressed. I find myself breathing harder than normal and fanning myself with my palm while forcing a tight-lipped smile. "We’re going to do a little toast for the birthday girl right here," he announces to everyone, holding up his cup of drinks in the air. Everyone mimics his actions, raising theirs as well. I can faintly smell moons
ARTEMIS’ POVA call was the last thing I was expecting from the man who calls himself my father. It's been almost three weeks since he last reached out, picked up my calls, or replied to my texts. I had to hear about my own mother's state from a psychotic outsider and not him. Yet, the first thing he does when he finally does reach out is summon me for state business, ignoring all the texts I sent, giving me the bare minimum news about Mum. My blood boils with every step I take, moving farther away from Sera and closer to him, mentally rehearsing all the words I'd like to say to him once I finally see him face to face.I almost rip the hinges off the door once I'm in his office, storming into the room. "I will not be a toy that you can place wherever your heart desires and whom you can call and summon as you please," I declare upon entering, only to fall silent instantly once I realize it's not just him and me. No, rather, the Administrator is here as well, standing at the
SERAPHINA’S POVI'm stuck in a room surrounded by fire, pounding at the door while the very last bits of oxygen are being consumed by the flames. The walls around me have corroded to ash and crumble to the floor, but I don't stop pounding and screaming for help until it finally bursts open. I breathe a sigh of relief, only briefly, before I realize standing right in front of me is a burning corpse; charred completely, with a disfigured body and towering over me, tears of bright viscous liquid streaming down. It's a gruesome sight that cripples me with fear before I scream out loud and shut my eyes.The next time I open them, I'm somewhere else. Staring at a white ceiling, I'm breathing so hard that my chest burns painfully. The entire room around me is white as I take in my surroundings, riddled with panic. I thought I was on fire, I thought I was going to die, yet suddenly, I'm somewhere different. Am I still dreaming?A frame is crouched over by my side, with wide shoul
SERAPHINA’S POVIt’s been four days now in this painfully white clinic room. It's been three hours since Artemis left to pick up fresh clothes and real food for me. And it's been almost twenty-four hours—twenty-four long, dreary hours—since the news of Juliet's death was dropped like a bomb. But of course, I know it's a lie. Juliet is not dead. Juliet is not dead.Juliet is not dead.I repeat this to myself, laughing heartily at Jasper’s cruel attempt at a joke yesterday. I laughed right in their convincing faces then, at the Oscar-worthy tears that drenched Jasper's face, and the godforsaken snot that followed.God, he really must have given the cheap prank his best, expensive tricks.Juliet is not dead—I chant it to myself, again and again, until I can feel it in my heart that the words are true. She's a werewolf, and if I had somehow survived the explosion, then she did too. She had to have. What good would all the werewolf agility in the world be if it could n
SERAPHINA’S POVHe picks up my hand, holding onto it tightly like I might slip from his fingers, placing it against his beating heart, and staring right into my soul with a precision that leaves me breathless."This isn’t your fault, baby. Don’t you feel that? Don’t you feel my heart? You’re the life that keeps it beating, Sera. I realized that when I ran into that fire to find you. I realized then - it has become essential for me to always find you, to always love you, and my heart might very well stop pumping if I’m ever forced away from this truth. But I swear, by the moon goddess, by every drop of blood in my veins, by every shred of my being, not even decay or the deepest pits of hell could stop me from loving you. I'd battle through an inferno, crawl if I have to, endure every agony, time and time again, just to ensure this heart keeps beating—to ensure it beats for you."His words are my undoing—and without realizing it at first, tear after tear rolls down my cheek, before i
SERAPHINA’S POVThe following days drift by fast, like a daze, as if time becomes the wind that breezes past us in the blink of an eye, and everything that comes with the passing days a simple dream. It’s all a never-ending nightmare I can’t wake up from, no matter how hard I scream and cry and deny its reality. It remains, casting darkness like a storm that never fades. Juliet isn’t hiding away. It sounds completely unbelievable. I held on to the possibilities of it being all a lie for a few days, an elaborate prank, until the fifth day came, and I hadn’t seen her, and Jasper hadn’t broken into a maniacal laugh about how crazy we all were for falling for it.Slowly, reality has begun to hit, as it always does. It was easier to ignore before while I was still in the hospital room, but outside, it is a different case. Grief is everywhere—at her locker in the form of a thousand flowers and notes, in front of her dorm room, and in all the faces I see.‘Sorry for your loss.’
SERAPHINA’S POVThe doors to the throne room on the west side of the castle finally pull open, revealing Artemis and me to the entire congregation gathered to celebrate our crowning and witness the beginning of a new era of peace. Our hands are intertwined, our traditional garments matching, with long flowing capes that trail a few feet behind us. A wave of anxiety and excitement hits all at once, but I know I’m not alone. Never again.The congregation stands, applauding endlessly as we walk down the aisle, side by side, hand in hand, waving at all of them. I spot Olivia and Jasper, hand in hand, seeing them for the first time in three years, waving harder and growing excited to tell them all about my tales. Ace and Gabe sit in the next row, clapping along with the crowd, smiles on their faces as well. Of course, Alice is nowhere to be seen. It’s been years, and she has never shown her face to me again.Olivia had said that she moved to a different country, one that’s far a
ARTEMIS’ POV ( 3YEARS LATER)I'm completely stacked with work, towers of paperwork almost reaching the ceilings for the changes I've tried desperately to implement for the past four years since becoming the Alpha King. Laws newly implemented seem to have more backlash than initially anticipated, yet I’m committed to see them to the end, all to make some time for the coming weekend. A knock echoes from my door before Jasper walks in, still rocking that god-awful goatee Olivia hasn't succeeded in getting him to chop off. "Beta reporting for duty, Your Majesty," he bows. "Any news from the delegation you sent out to the human population?" He now turns serious once he sees all the papers.I instantly appreciate the new version of him that's capable of taking things seriously while still retaining his joyful side. I've tried to continue my father's works, improving the mission to unite all races as one to prevent things like war from ever happening again, to form a union o
ARTEMIS’ POVWeeks pass since Sera’s eyes open, and like a sick twist of fate, I find myself unable to see her as much now, with doctors being around her and more work piling on my desk. Yet, I remind myself to be patient while she gets the treatment and therapy she needs. The times I do stay by her side, I hold her in my arms, slowly filling her in on everything she’s missed in the past year. Her greatest hurdle with everything is accepting how much time has passed, how long she’s been unconscious, the time she’s lost. Processing it has not been easy and simply adds to her stress. Thankfully, Olivia stayed back for a few weeks to help her readjust to it all while I’m away and has only just left a few days ago.Tonight, as always, I’m in my office completely swamped with work, trying to achieve most of what I planned to do before Sera is completely better and on her feet again. Because I want to show her the world and more, and before I can get anywhere, I have to fix it.
ARTEMIS’ POV(ONE YEAR LATER)"In light of all the allegations brought forth, not only by students but also by teachers, I hereby strip you of your position as school Administrator," I declare before the newly appointed school board gathered before me. The now former Administrator, Mr. Andrew, stares at me with wet, red eyes on the brink of breaking into tears. He trembles, looking at me with pleading eyes for mercy, but I feel nothing close to remorse, especially with proof of years of his embezzlement sitting right in front of me on my desk. The fact that he also played a huge part in the school's segregation alone tempts me to strangle him with my bare hands every time I remember what Seraphina had to go through - but then, even I had a hand in this.My eyes shift to the other man in his late thirties standing on the other side of the room among the council, nodding in his direction. "In replacement, I appoint Mr. Jermaine for the new position of school Administrator."
ACE’S POVAs the doctor announces the outcomes of the surgery, I slowly detach from the group, watching their faces light up for only a moment before something even darker takes over. But I don’t stay long. I don’t dare stay with them in their moments of grief or offer words of encouragement, not when I haven’t been there for everything they’ve had to face. I don’t deserve to sit in their presence of lament with any of them, not especially Artemis or Jasper. I was a shitty friend, I probably still am. I haven’t gotten over my jealousy or my issues. I couldn’t be there for them even if I wanted to, but I at least wanted to show up and apologize, at least to Sera, for everything I did. I wish I could do more, be better. Perhaps in the future, when so much isn’t happening, perhaps one day I could have the courage to face each of them and apologize properly.I walk to a corner, resting against the wall, wanting to be alone before I read the letter from Kamila. She’s neve
ARTEMIS’ POVI grab her before her body can hit the ground, pressing down on her neck that gushes more blood than I can bear to see. “Sera!” I yell her name, my voice laden with begging and pleading for her to wake up, to look at me, to say something—anything at all. Even if it means her hating me for forcing her into this situation, for not being strong enough, I would gladly take it; she need only say anything.The blood doesn’t stop, and she doesn’t move either; her eyes remain unfocused, staring at nothing without the usual glint of light in them. “Sera, please…” I break into a sob, holding her against me, pressing my cheek against her forehead as a wave of agony overwhelms me. She can’t leave me. I won’t let her."Moon Goddess!" I scream, my voice reaching the sky with tears in my eyes, Sera clutched tightly in my arms. Rage burns like fire in my blood. "You said you chose me to make a difference, you said you wanted the circle to end. None of it would make any s
SERAPHINA’S POVHer hands stretch out, and numerous black hands spring forth from the shadows of everyone else, every person that still remains on the school premises, grabbing onto whomever it comes from and pinning them to the ground, myself included. "I only spared you for a moment because you meant something to her, but if you force my hand, I will find joy in crushing you with my bare hands," she seethes, trembling with anger. The shadow holding me down doubles in pressure, and I feel a few of my ribs breaking under it. It’s only a matter of time before she kills me along with everyone else here, and if she does that, there would be no one else to stop her."Sera, don't!" the scream of a female voice pulls both our attention to the far left. It's Olivia, tied down by her own shadow, trembling and in tears, next to an equally captured Jasper... I thought they had escaped. "Don’t do this, Sera. This isn’t you." Her surprise turns into disgust while facing Olivia now.
ARTEMIS’ POVI'm violently shaken awake by someone, and my eyes open, staring at the gruff, manly face looking down at me with concern—a face I recognize as one of the soldiers on my side. "Your majesty," he cries the second my eyes are open, giving me enough space to sit up. I feel as though I've only woken up from a deep, restful sleep, my body relaxed and fully energized once more, which is confusing for an entity claiming to save me for last after wiping an entire race out.I look around the room, everything being the same aside from Sera’s presence. She’s really gone. I look at the large hole in the wall, at the sky that suddenly seems like a darker red shade with clouds hanging around. It really does look like the end of the world. "Report," I say to the soldier, getting to my feet again. "The witch..." He begins, pausing the second I cast a deathly glare his way. "...I mean the princess managed to change the color of the sky as soon as she left the building, casti
SERAPHINA’S POVI blink my eyes for only a second, and suddenly I'm in a garden with the sun setting, showing that half the day has passed. Half the day just breezed past me without being present, almost as if I’m running through today. I'm startled for a second, not remembering coming here at all. I could have sworn that I was back in the hall accepting my new title just a second ago. Yet, I'm sitting on a bench holding the book in my hands, its skin feeling and looking awfully familiar, as if I’ve had it long before now.“How does it feel being Queen now?” A voice cuts through my train of thought from behind me. I pause and look around, meeting my mother walking towards me in her always slowly paced walks. I’d never seen her run, even in times of distress and emergency, and always wished I could be half as regal and calm as she is. “Mother,” I say, standing to my feet and hugging her for a while. Somehow calling her my mother leaves a feeling of yearning in my heart, des