Chapter 3

He didn’t remember her. 

She stared him dead in the eyes, and Syanna was certain he didn’t know who the hell she was. But how could he not? How could the man she had seen in her dreams for the past two years and thought about every passing second not know who she was? 

It was bad enough that she was here at a school for supernaturals when she was the only human. But could she really exist with him on the same campus, knowing they knew each other, but he obviously didn’t? 

Gosh. This was a nightmare. 

“Just look on the bright side,” Juliet, Syanna’s roommate and only friend, said. 

“What’s that?” she mumbled, picking at her doughnut. 

“He’s a jerk, anyway. You dodged a bullet.” 

Syanna gasped. Coming from anyone else, this would’ve seemed logical and normal. But Juliet was a Cupid—one of three in the entire academy. In the short two weeks that Syanna had known her, Juliet had never said anything bad about anyone or anything. It was just in Juliet’s nature to be friendly and, well, loving. 

Not to mention that she was a romantic. Literally. 

When Syanna found Juliet and replayed the entire incident to her, telling her how she and Cole met two years ago, Juliet was actually relieved that he didn’t remember Syanna. 

Syanna had no idea that he was even supernatural. When they met at the diner, he was just a lost, confused boy looking for somewhere to rest. Even after invading her dreams every day for the last two years, Syanna had never imagined that he would’ve been a Phoenix, let alone be at the school she had been dreaming of attending since she even knew what it was. 

After he left and didn’t come back, Syanna figured that he had found his way home. But when two nights came, and he was in her dreams, then two nights moved to three, four and ten, she realised something wasn’t right. 

And it stayed that way for an entire two years, which strangely stopped when she came to Unici two weeks ago. 

Unlike all the other new supernaturals, Syanna’s entry to Unici Academy for Supernaturals was planned since the day she was born. She didn’t know why, but Jake—the only father she had ever known—told her everything she needed to know about Unici. 

He didn’t keep the supernatural world from her, even though he never told her why she needed to be at Unici once she turned twenty. He simply told her, ‘It’s what your parents would’ve wanted and where you’ll belong.’

But that had been a lie when Syanna arrived and learned that she was the only human here. There were dragons, werewolves, vampires, gryphons, witches and The Uniques, like Juliet, Cole and every other supernatural that were considered rare and special. Even the headmistress was supernatural.

Headmistress Simpson and the other heads of the school were the only fairies in the supernatural world. They were one of the first mythical creatures to exist. 

They were given the task by the higher beings to protect the supernatural world on earth. Perhaps an academy was the best choice in their eyes. This way, they could guide the supernaturals from when they were young. 

Of course, the supernaturals at the academy weren’t every supernatural creature in the world. Vampires were reckless at heart, witches tended to stay in covens and live among humans, dragons were primarily nomadic, and werewolves lived in packs. Unici was barely a scrap of supernatural creatures, but the fairies still believed they made a difference.

But then came Syanna—the only human in the entire school. Some of the supernaturals didn’t like it, and she had to admit, she didn’t either. It was only when she arrived two weeks ago that she even noticed that she didn’t even know WHY she was here. 

It was all orchestrated by her parents, who died when she was a baby, and Jake, who had loved and cared for her since. Syanna was pretty upset with him for hiding the fact that she’d be the only human here, although the other supernaturals weren’t allowed to harm her. 

Still, she was so occupied with wondering why Jake hid it and why she was even here to realise that her dreams of Cole had stopped the minute she entered Unici Academy. Was it because they were in the same school all along? 

She had spent most of her days in her room with Juliet, catching up on everything she needed to know about the academy. But how could she not have noticed? For something that haunted her for two whole years, she should’ve at least realised that the dreams had stopped. 

She felt like an idiot. 

“You should stay away from him,” Juliet warned, grabbing hold of Syanna’s doughnut that she had now abandoned. 

Syanna frowned but said nothing. 

“He’s already hurt you, and you hadn’t even talked for more than three minutes. Cole is bad news, Syanna. They don’t call him the Prince of Darkness for nothing.” 

“Wait, what?” Syanna was still trying to wrap her mind around this new image of Cole. The guy she met a year ago wasn’t cold, dark and scary, and he definitely wasn’t a jerk. But perhaps she didn’t know him at all. 

“You don’t know?” Juliet scoffed, chewing on her pastry. “He’s hot and all, but he’s the biggest jerk on campus with the most annoying temper. No one—not even the headmistress—dear tries to get him angry. It gets… ugly. Rumour has it, he’s more than supernatural. He’s like a superior being.”

“No way.” Syanna couldn’t try to fathom this.

“Yes, way,” Juliet insisted. “He’s bad news, Syanna. So, call yourself lucky for escaping him.” 

Syanna didn’t want to believe it, but how could she not? She had just witnessed the most embarrassing moment of her life when she ran into him, and he had no idea who she was. 

Was she really that forgettable? Did she wrap herself in that stupid blanket she had found trampled in the mud in vain all this time? 

Of course she did, and she felt like a fool. 

Juliet was the sweetest person she knew. It was sort of her nature, being a Cupid and all. Juliet would see the utter best in literally anyone—even a serial killer! So Syanna should’ve known that Cole was truly a jerk if Juliet, of all people, said so from her own lips.

And now, she won’t deny it any longer. 

This was her chance to start new and fresh. Her dreams of him stopped when she came here, and she could finally enjoy being at Unici and somehow focus on finding her true purpose. 

The academy, after all, was wonderful. 

It was massive—probably even larger than her hometown. Unici was for supernaturals of all age groups, but they didn’t mingle. So, the younger ones had their section of the campus blocked by massive gates, and so did the teenagers and, of course, the young adults where Syanna and the others fell in. 

The buildings were ancient, each made from brownish bricks, with statues of different creatures at every corner. Whichever part of the ground wasn’t grass was covered in golden-like bricks, making the entire place look magical. Then again, it was a school for ‘supernaturals.’ 

Right now, they were at Juliet’s favourite chill place, and Syanna could easily see it becoming hers as well. It was a little pastry shop near the Ivy Lake on campus, owned by a small family of gophers. As far as Syanna could see, there were the best doughnuts in the academy, and they sat at the tables outside, where they had the perfect view of the crystal lake. 

It’s said that Ivy Lake has healing powers and could heal any wound. It was a sight to behold, along with everything else at the academy. 

So, there really was no reason for Syanna to be drooping around thinking about Cole. 

Screw Cole. 

He was a jerk and didn’t deserve a minute of her thoughts. 

If he could forget her so easily, then so could she. 

“Are you okay?” Juliet asked, holding her hand across the table. 

Syanna nodded. “I’ll be fine.”

“Good. Because, don’t look now, but Cole is heading this way.” 

Syanna’s eyes widened. “What?” 

“And he does not look happy.”