Page 2 of Vayn

Alyk!

He’s the only one who could sneak up on me without me sensing him ahead of time. It was a skill that impressed and irritated me.

“I don’t know who I should be more frustrated with, her or you,” I told the dean of Shadow Bound Academy.

“I’m the one you should be frustrated with. Not Destiny. It’s not her fault her magic hasn’t manifested itself.”

“Who’s fault is it?” I asked. “No student has gone this long without manifesting. Are you sure she belongs here?”

“You’ve seen her eyes, Vayn. She’s the daughter of a Fallen. I just don’t know whose daughter... yet.”

“She’s weak, like a human.”

“She’s part human.”

“You don’t have to remind me. I can smell the stench from here.”

I tried not to inhale too deeply when I was around her. Her scent made me feel strange. Though she smelled human, the scent wasn’t as off-putting as I’d hinted to the dean. In fact, it was alluring, which only irritated me further.

“How did you find her?” I asked, not just to cover my momentary discomfort, but also because I was interested in knowing my charge’s history.

“A blood drive in the mortal realm. Texas, America, I believe. One of our techs was drawing her blood and sensed she was different. She ran tests on her blood and found that she was a descendant. So, we had her brought in.”

“You mean kidnapped.”

“As I said, we had her brought in.”

Kidnapped. Students either enrolled at Shadow Bound Academy because they were raised by Fallen or the servants of Fallens and already knew their history. They’d been taught about their abilities all their life and had grown up honing their skills.

They’d usually gone to Shadow primary schools their entire life and had limited contact with humans, even if they resided in the human realm. Those students usually excelled at Shadow Bound academy and went on to work in the supernatural world. A few returned to the mortal realm to work amongst the humans.

Then there were students like Destiny, who were found at random, usually by Fallen or cursed ones who lived in the mortal realm. They had no idea what they were because they were raised as humans, and their Fallen parents weren’t in their lives. More than likely, their Fallen parents had hidden their true identity from their human parents.

Those cases happened more often than not. Though I hated humans, I also despised Fallens who created offspring, then left them with their unsuspecting human parents. If the academy didn’t find those offspring before their powers manifested, chaos usually ensued, which led to the council sending Shadow Guardians like me to clean it up.

If the offspring were too far gone when the guardians found them, they were either killed or sent to Shadow Prison. If there was some hope for them, they were sent to Hell Bound Academy, a school for monsters, descendants, and other creatures of the Lore who needed more training and discipline than the students at Shadow Bound.

My friend and fellow guardian, Ryver, was currently hunting down a charge who was so far gone, she may need to be killed. She’d shredded several men, killing them and leaving their mutilated bodies on the streets of New Orleans, America. A cursed descendant in the area had smelled the blood and gone to check it out.

They’d seen her running away. She’d disappeared before he could catch her. Ryver and his team had been sent in to take her down immediately. Someone like her couldn’t be allowed to roam free. No matter how they ended up off the streets, all primary and college-age cursed ones had to attend a Supernatural school.

Shadow Bound and Hell Bound weren’t the only ones available. There were also Fangs, Fae, and Fury, Moon Spawn, and a host of others they could choose from. Mostly turned vampires, the offspring of turned vampires, shifters, and witches attended Fangs, Fae, and Fury. But, there were some Fallen descendants who attended there because their parents didn’t want them to be under the rule of the Shadow Council.

However, recently, the Council passed an order that all Fallen descendants at other supernatural schools must transfer to schools in the realm of monsters. Their kind was being hunted. Shadow schools or Shadow Prisons were the safest places for them these days.

Though I didn’t think Destiny belonged here, I didn’t want her in the human world either. Times were too dangerous for that. So, where did someone like her need to be? Where did she want to be?

“Did she want to come here, Alyk?” I asked the dean.

“Our kind are being hunted for our abilities. We’re also being hunted for sport. It was only a matter of time before she became some vampire hunter’s target. Or maybe her powers would’ve manifested in front of a human. Then she would’ve ended up in some scientist’s lab. Or worse, her powers would’ve manifested while she was alone. Then, confused and hungry, she would’ve killed an innocent human and drained her victim dry. Then she would’ve ended up at Hell Bound Academy, or worse, she would’ve spent her days on the run. I know you’ve heard of the case Ryver is on. It’s been two weeks, and he still hasn’t captured his target. Is that what you want for Destiny? Do you want her to live her life on the run or behind bars? Trust me. She’s safer here. Don’t you agree, or would you rather have her sent to Hell?”

“The shadows aren’t much safer than Hell.”

“I’m talking about here, at the academy. She’s safer here.”

True. I wasn’t ready to admit it, though. “With no fangs, how does she feed?”

“You have heard of cups, haven’t you?”