SERAPHINA’S POVIt's dark and cold out in the deep woods, and I don’t remember why I’m here, alone and out when it’s so dark with an ominous fog. I don’t know why I’m wearing the same dress I had on for the banquet. The scene in front of me seems all too familiar.I walk aimlessly for what feels like a while, without any destination, until a dark figure emerges in front of me, filling me with dread. I know he’s going to kill me with his bare hands, rip me apart, and before I can scream, hands fall on my neck and squeeze hard. My lungs begin to collapse for air, and my vision blurs. I can't call for help; he won't let me. I’m weak, all alone in this dark forest.I feel helpless until something else flickers into my vision—a woman I easily recognize in her iconic white dress. Her features are so vividly clear that I can make out every one of them, despite the darkness. She's crying, thick red liquid pouring from her eyes. “Avenge me,” she pleads.Confused at first, I soon realize t
SERAPHINA’S POVI watch Artemis pace back and forth quietly in our little room. The beautiful face of the boy I love contorts with countless emotions, fluctuating between confusion, anger, frustration, and more in a constant rhythm. He does this for a while, seemingly forgetting that Olivia could walk in at any moment, or that we have school in a few hours. I don't rush him though. It's been two days since I last saw him, too long for me to hurry anything. So, even if this moment takes hours, or forever, I decide to wait for him to form the words.Finally, he stops with a heavy sigh and falls onto Olivia’s bed opposite mine. He rubs his temples with his thumb, looking beyond worried. I can't help but mirror his emotion."Artemis? Is everything okay?" I ask gently.He sighs again, deeper and heavier, then finally looks up at me. "You probably wouldn’t believe me, even if I somehow manage to find the right words to tell you this.""You can try me."He hesitates again, doubtfully, bu
SERAPHINA’S POVThree mornings ago was the last time I saw Artemis. The image of him laughing nervously, casting a final glance with a flimsy promise of seeing me again, is the last memory I have, and since then, he's become invisible. Absent from all his classes and clubs - well, the plausible excuse was his engagement. Despite promising he would do something about it, it seems to have taken over every aspect of his life, including the bits that involved me, leaving me staring at places we used to hang out with a certain longing.School feels different without him; it's colder, quieter, maybe even pointless, or perhaps it’s just me, unable to get my mind off him. Aside from that, I keep having nightmares, each more terrifying than the last. This time, I'm stabbing a person with so much hate until I finally recognize his face as Artemis. The veil lifts from my eyes, and I realize what I’ve done. Each dream becomes creepier and scarier than the one before, so I’ve sworn myself off
SERAPHINA’S POVI run away like a coward, unable to face the meaning behind his words, and what they would mean for me, the changes they would bring to our dynamic, and everything else. I rush past the class I was eager to go to minutes ago, speeding into the library where I know it will be quiet. I speed walk until I reach the forgotten ends of the vast hall, a place nobody really explores due to the well-known notion of everyone hating school. Finding the perfect corner, I crawl into a ball and cry.I don’t even know why I’m crying. Is it because of the confession? No, maybe it’s his words about Artemis really ending up with Kamila. Maybe a part of me has started to see it becoming a reality, more and more, with the less time we get to spend together these days. Maybe this is it, and I’m just holding on pointlessly, like every other girl who's had her heart broken chasing after Artemis. Maybe Kamila really will have what she wants in the end.I'm hyperventilating, my chest hu
SERAPHINA’S POVI look around me again, at the colorful, bright streets, the laughter, the children, and the hardworking individuals casually passing by, and then I look back at her in disbelief. “What? Is it so unbelievable?” she asks with a playful smile and a raised brow, mocking my lowered jaw. “This is Astria?”“Yes. This is what Astria used to look like. We are in a memory,” she explains further. It makes sense… Actually, it doesn’t, but I attribute the logic of me being here to nothing else but magic. Still, it’s unbelievable, and I don’t even ask whose memory we’re in. The peace, the tranquility, the normalcy... none of it looks or seems like what I imagined Astria would look like.She chuckles beside me, having stood by, watching my expression for more than a second, forcing me to look at her again. “Why are you laughing?”“I’m sorry... you seem too surprised that this is the life they lived. I imagine it’s different from the history books you’ve read about. You learned
SERAPHINA’S POVIn a trance, I find my way back to my dorm and don’t realize I have arrived until I'm standing just outside the door. The 15-minute walk here was engulfed with thoughts of the vision, the story of what was, and the premonition of what will be — what I won’t let happen, regardless of what she says. Hatred cannot be passed through generations; I don’t hate the wolves. I could never hate Artemis.I push the door open, filled with exhaustion, expecting to be greeted with an empty bed. Instead, when I walk in, there's Olivia talking with the same person who was just on my mind a second ago. “Artemis?”“Hey,” he smiles, immediately getting up from my bed and coming over to me. He wraps me up in a bear-tight hug, his wide arms encircling me in mere seconds. At first, the sudden embrace catches me off guard, but then his familiar scent envelops me, tenderly drawing me closer. In that moment, I melt into his arms, letting his warmth caress my soul and melt away the frost o
SERAPHINA’S POVWARNING: CHAPTER CONTAINS SCENES OF SELF-HARMI’m petrified for the first few seconds, unable to say or do anything but stand and be horrified by the sight of what I’ve done to him. I swore over and over again that this wouldn’t happen, that no one else would get hurt, and yet I did it. He groans painfully, pulling himself out of the indentation in the wall and dusting off the bits of wall debris clinging to his clothes before he looks at me again, more confused and shocked than ever. I can see the wheels in his head turning, the questions brewing in his mind about what's going on, how and why I suddenly threw him off like that. Questions I have no answer to, and worse, I don't think I can offer any because of the fear of what he might think of me. I’m scared. I’m so scared, Artemis.Hands rest on my shoulders from behind me now, and I freeze in place, feeling the instant chill of her presence, this lady, the guardian of my destiny. "He's judging you right now,"
ARTEMIS’ POV:She pushed me away. Words can’t describe the anguish I’m in, the pain ripping through my chest as I unwillingly relive those seconds again. The look on her face, the fear, the terror I couldn’t understand. And then that whiplash of energy, like a whirlwind. Nothing makes sense anymore, but what I fear the most is the subtle feeling of her withdrawal. I’m losing her bit by bit, and this overwhelming feeling of helplessness chokes me even more. The seconds I’m away from her are like torture; I can’t imagine not being able to hold her ever again. The more I find a way out of this, the more walls I run into, all because of a prophecy that might hold no truth behind it and my father’s overwhelming desire to control me. In a final attempt to salvage something, to reach an agreement, I find myself seeking him first, walking towards his office. Desperation oozes off every hurried step that draws me closer to my destination until I’m standing right in front of it. I kick