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“But,” I whisper in hopes she’ll continue.
“When we finished our first day and class, Alaric and I were brought before a council.”
“A council?” I never saw any sort of membership of the sorts.
“Fae from the realms of Nephilim and Malevolence. Some are royals. Others are deemed to be gods and goddesses. There is a mixture of males and females. They all wear cloaks that cover their bodies and faces, some of red velvet and others of gold silk.” I can see the stems of fear in her pupils as they dilate at the memory.
“We outperformed during our first class. Our skills and performance were sought after, and we were given a few options that would either force us to leave N.M.U. and return at a later date or to be taken in for special training that would ensure we didn’t potentially die every class.”
She shakes her head as if to get rid of the dark memories.
“I couldn’t give up after we’d reached so far. Our team was waiting for us, and if we took any option other than returning and continuing our attendance at N.M.U., our team would be sacrificed as an offering.”
“An offering.” I’m trying to wrap my head around it. “So, you decided to return.”
“I did,” she confesses. “But Alaric didn’t want to go back to N.M.U. Now that he realized how dangerous it was, he wanted more time to train and to come back with his brother. He was like me. He left without telling his family where he was really going, giving him the perfect alibi to come back and make some sort of excuse.”
“So, what happened?”
“He was given an ultimatum.” It takes everything for her to say the next words. “Kill the woman he loves before them, and he will be granted a shot at getting a position on their council. To be a part of their society of royals.”
“I will offer the blood of the Viper to obtain my seat in the society of royals…” I repeat the full sentence, realizing where they’re rooted from. “He loved you?”
She couldn’t look more defeated.
“Did,” she emphasizes the single word. “We’d been secretly dating before we got the invitations. It’s exactly why we contacted one another and went to N.M.U. together. His brother wasn’t interested in anyone, but I knew you were falling for someone, so we thought by going together and getting this attendance over with, we’d prevent the chance of you both attending. At the time, it made sense.
“N.M.U. isn’t a typical university where you take years to attend. You gain knowledge through trials and are given opportunities to escalate. If you fall in the line of a professor’s favor, you’re granted more privileges and bonuses that protect you and your teammates. The goal was to get it over with, gain the knowledge and powers that could be of use to us, and come back to give it to you.”
She wraps my hands with hers.
“That’s why that night I let you mimic my magic, knowing an essence of me would remain within you. I used a spell that would allow my magic to remain with you, even though Shadow magic isn’t your born element.”
“It’s not?” Now I’m confused. “I’ve always been using Shadow magic.”
“Your magic traits stem from Nephilim, Ophelia. It’s why you easily teleported here by accident, and I had to come find you,” she reveals, as if we aren’t the same age. She knows and understands things a lot easier than me. “My essence traits are the Shadows from Malevolence, which is why you’re essentially carrying both traits.”
“Alright…” I can’t waste time trying to wrap my head around this now. “But why is that significant now? Why would Alaric kill you… that fucker actually killed you?!” I gasp in horror when it clicks in my mind.
“The bargain was too good for him to give up,” she admits, but her eyes darken with hate. “But there was one last bit to the bargain.”
“What was it?”
“He needed the blood of a Viper to seal the deal. He already ‘killed’ me, or at least, that’s what he witnessed with his own eyes when he stabbed me in the chest. However, to complete the bargain, he needed to spill the blood of another Viper.” Her brows scrunch together. “You weren’t supposed to be a target, though… but maybe that’s my fault.”
“What do you mean?” I ask. “I’m not a Gilded Viper? That’s what Professor North calls me from time to time. Just like how Professor Blackbird calls me Darling Nightmare.”
“So you’ve crossed paths with both of them,” she sounds even more pleased. “Your base essence is Nephilim, meaning you’re destined to be someone’s Darling Nightmare. It’s their way of labeling the connection between a lover who can potentially become a Nephalem. Think of it as how Malevolence fae believe a Gilded Viper has the chance of ascending into a Gilded Merger. Either way, the female’s essence has to react to the fae royal and cause a significant reaction to prove their potential. However, most don’t get a chance to find that connected partner because they’re hunted for their blood.”
Hunted and killed for their blood… is that why so many die during the trials before they can reach the safe days at N.M.U.
Then something comes to mind.
“Wait… so because I have your essence… are you trying to say I’m connected to two people instead of one?” I question as my eyes begin to widen. “Hold on. If my original essence is of light and connected to Nephilim, I’m Professor Blackbird… Daemon’s Darling Nightmare.”
I’m piecing it all together, which makes me feel like everything is spinning.
“But I’m also a Gilded Viper… Professor North… Orpheus. I’m connected to him as well… that’s why our connection… just having him in my presence drives my body insane.” It hurts to admit it because now I understand the predicament I’ve been put into.
