Breakfast at Nocturne was exactly what I expected from a school full of vampires and werewolves.
Weird meat. Strange smells. And absolutely no coffee.
The dining hall was massive—rows of dark wooden tables, floating chandeliers dripping with candlelight, and students clustered in tight little groups like wolf packs. Everyone had their territory.
I got stares. Not the "who's the new kid" kind. More like "do you bleed the same as us?"
Spoiler: I don't.
I grabbed a tray of food I didn't plan on touching and sat at the end of a table no one wanted. Worked for me. I wasn't here to make friends. I was here to find one name on a long list of hidden enemies.
One vampire. High-ranking. Connected to my dad's death. Somewhere in this school.
And I had to pretend I belonged until I found him.
Halfway through my fake breakfast, a girl dropped her tray across from me. She had short pink hair, three earrings in one ear, and an attitude like she chewed silver bullets for fun.
"You're sitting in the Neutral Zone," she said, stabbing a sausage with her fork. "Safe space. Means you haven't picked a House yet."
"Didn't know I had to," I replied.
She smirked. "You will. Vampires, werewolves, half-bloods. Everyone sides eventually."
"I'm not everyone."
"Yeah, no kidding." She squinted at me. "You smell like old magic. Not the good kind."
I raised an eyebrow. "You walk up to every new student and sniff them, or am I special?"
She laughed. "You're funny. Good. You'll need a sense of humor to survive this place. I'm Juno. Half-blood. Fire and fury, literally. You?"
"Raven," I said automatically. "No House."
She tilted her head like she didn't buy it. But thankfully, she didn't push. "Watch your back, Raven. Nocturne eats the soft ones fast."
I didn't bother telling her I was the one with teeth.
After classes—which were just as strange as the student body (Intro to Blood Magic, History of the Supernatural, and Combat Tactics for Night Breeds)—I ended up in the library.
It was three floors of stone, shadow, and silence. Perfect.
I wasn't there for books. I was there for information. Names. Faces. Clues.
If my father's killer was here, there had to be something. Records. Student files. Something hidden in the dusty shelves.
I had just started digging through the older archives when someone spoke behind me.
"You shouldn't be in this section."
I turned. Kael.
Of course.
He leaned against a pillar like he lived there. "Restricted wing. Only upperclassmen and staff."
"I didn't see a sign," I said, casually slipping the book back on the shelf.
He gave me a look. "No one comes here unless they're looking for trouble."
"Good. I'm excellent at finding it."
He stared at me a moment longer, then walked closer. Too close.
"You're not what you pretend to be," he said quietly.
I didn't flinch. "Neither are you."
His mouth twitched. Not quite a smile. "You're not scared of me."
"No."
"You should be."
I stepped in, nose to nose. "Why? Are you hiding something too?"
We stood like that for a second. Then he backed off.
"Interesting," he muttered, turning away. "See you soon, Raven Black."
I watched him disappear between the shelves.
He was hiding something. But he wasn't the only one.
They thought I was just some quiet new girl with a fake name and a bad attitude.
They didn't know the truth.
I wasn't just powerful.I was the thing even monsters feared.