Chapter 1 Shattered

“Leave her”. The voice was scratchy, like rocks grinding on metal. “She's just a child”.

“She has their blood”. The other guy hissed, sounding cold. His boots crunched on the ground. “We can't let anyone live. You know the rules, finish the job.

I didn't get it then. I was too young to even talk right but I knew that voice. It was scary. The night smelled like burning wood. I squeezed under the car, shaking, and put my hands on the oily ground. It was quiet except for the guys walking around. My parents were behind them in the grass, they are not moving.

I tried to do what my pa told me to do in times like this. Hide Aria and don’t make a sound. I tried to make him proud, he would come get me soon.

“Don't be a wimp”, the cold voice snapped. A knife came out reflecting the moon. “She dies too”.

“She can barely walk”, the other guy mumbled. He bent down, his shadow going under the car. “Look at her, she doesn't even know what's going on. I didn't sign up to kill children”.

The knife guy laughed. “Fine, I'll do it”.

The shadow got closer. I dug my fingers into the dirt. My heartpounding. I bit my lip so hard I tasted blood. My stomach suddenly felt hot, there was a growl and suddenly the car shook, sparks popped in the dark, bright and hot, crawling all over me like bugs. My body jerked, the guy's hand reached under the car…….Fire exploded. They screamed as the fire took them over, burning them up in seconds.

Their screams turned into wail, the knife fell……then blackness. ________________________________________

I woke up coughing and choking, I could almost smell the smoke. The same dream, the same fire almost every night. My sheets were all twisted around my legs, wet with sweat. I was breathing hard, like I had been running. For a second I thought I saw fire on the walls, but it was just the sun coming through the curtains.

I'm safe, I'm home. I rubbed my face. It's just a dream, I whispered. There came a knock at the door, I jumped. The door opened and I see my stepfather in the doorway. Alpha Roderick…..but I just call him Dad. He is a big soft man with some gray in his hair. His arms were covered with tattoos and some scars which he had told me stories about. His eyes softened when he saw me.

“Nightmare again?” he asked.

I nodded. “Same one”.

He sighed and came over. He touched my head the way he always does, like he is trying to remove the nightmare from my head.

“It's just a dream, Aria”.

I nodded, but we both knew better. He never said it, but I could see it in his eyes. He knew something happened that night. Something a kid shouldn't have lived through.

I faked a smile. “I'm fine. Breakfast?”

He smiled a little. “If you want to burn down my kitchen”.

I groaned. “Daddd…..one time, just one time I almost burned a pan and you won't forget it.

He chuckled, I loved hearing his laughter so I took it with me down the hall.

---

School was better, my final year as a senior I had a best friendand a boyfriend. The school hallways was full of posters with twinkly lights, promising a night to remember. Prom season was always like that. Girls whispering and giggling in the hallway, and boys looking nervous, trying to come up with cool ways to ask someone out.

This year would finally be my turn. I was filled with anticipation, I knew Philip was going to ask me. He had been my boyfriend for almost a year, and I knew he is the kind of guy who would do something amazing to ask me to prom. He isperfect like that and always thoughtful.

I looked up and then I see him. My Philip. He stands near the lockers, looking so tall and handsome in his varsity jacket. My heart leaps because in his hands he holds exactly what I imagined: a bouquet of flowers, a box of chocolates tied neatly with a ribbon. He looks like a scene from a movie.

Until he turns, saying something and holding them out to a girl in front of him. Eve, my best friend. I froze, I couldn’t move or breathe, my chest aches as I watch her squeal.

“Philip, they’re beautiful!” she gushes, pressing the flowers to her face. “Are you sure?”

He smiled even bigger as he gave her the chocolate. “Of course. Prom wouldn't be the same without you, Eve”.

Eve gasped and held the flowers like they were a treasure. “Yes, Philip! Yes!” She hugged him, and before I knew it, she kissed him.

My legs almost gave out. My boyfriend and my best friend together in front of everyone. My chest hurt so much I thought it would burst. Eve pulled away from the kiss, giggling.

“When are you going to tell Aria? I’m tired of sneaking around her”.

“Soon. I’m waiting for the right time to tell her. She's too clingy and ugly. I never should have dated her for that long, I just felt sorry for her”.

Every word felt like a knife twisting inside me. Finally, I managed to walk towards them.

“Philip”.

Eve and Philip both stopped and looked at me, standing in frontof them. Tears I couldn't hold back were running my face.

“Aria”, Eve said, “we didn't want you to find out like this”.

I laughed, but it sounded bitter, even to me. “You didn't want me to find out? You're kissing my boyfriend in the middle of the hall. You’re my best friend. How could you do this to me?”

Philip held up his hands, like he was calming down a kid. “Don't make a scene, Aria”.

“A scene?” I asked, my voice shaking with anger. “That’s what you’re worried about? You embarrass me in front of the whole school, and you're worried about a scene?”

A small crowds started to gather. Phones came out to record. I stepped forward, shaking. I raised my hand before I could stop myself. I wanted to slap Eve and wipe that smug look off her face. Philip grabbed my wrist before I could touch her, he held on tight.

“Don't you dare?”

“Let go”, I told him, my voice trembling.

I want to hurt them like they hurt me. How long had he been cheating with her? how many times had they laughed at me behind my back? Aria the fool. Philip’s eyes got dark, and before I knew it, he slapped me. The sound echoed in the hallway.

I gasped, my face stung. My vision got blurry.

“See?” Philip said, turning to the students like he needed them to agree with him. “This is what I mean. She can't handle things. She was never right for me”.

Eve just smiled, still holding the flowers like a prize. “Maybe you should try dating people not out of your league next time, Aria”. They laughed

I saw red. Then, everything froze. Not just in my head, but for real. The voices stopped laughing, the students stopped moving, and the flowers in Eve's hand froze in mid-air. It was like the whole world paused except me. I looked down at my hands, which were shaking, tiny sparks of fire danced on my fingertips, glowing like dying embers. My eyes got wide.

“What the hell……?” I whispered.

Before I could figure it out, everything went back to normal. The laughter and cheering started again, and no one else seemed to notice anything had happened. The sparks were gone, like they were never there. My throat tightened. Was I going crazy?

I turned and pushed through the crowd, ignoring their cruel smiles. My heart was breaking with every step, but I could still feel that weird heat inside me that I couldn't explain. I got home and quietly opened the door, hoping to sneak upstairs without anyone seeing me. I just wanted to lock myself in my room and cry where no one could watch.

“Aria?” My dad's voice stopped me on the stairs

I turned around slowly, trying not to cry. “Yes, Dad?”

He walked into the hallway and looked at my face. “There is something you…….what happened? Have you been crying?

“Of course not”, I whispered, shaking my head. “It was just... a bad day at school, I’m tired”.

He didn't push it, but he still looked worried. Instead, he held up a letter, it was thick and sealed with a fancy design that glowed a little

“What's that?”

He looked at me. “This is for you”.

I took it slowly. The paper is warm, the seal glowing like fire. My name was on the front in gold letters, glowing like the seal.

Miss Aria Evans.

The way my name was glowing it had to be magic, “What… what is it?”

Dad didn't move. “It's from Evermoor Academy”.

“What?” is this a joke? Please tell me this isn’t one of my brother’s prank. “No”. I shook my head. “That can't be. They only send those to…..”

“Supernatural people”, he said quietly. “Wolves, Vampires, Dragons, witches but not humans.

The paper burned in my hand. I was panicking. “Then why…..” I said. Why me?