Chapter 3 Three
“No way—Kael is racing!”
“I heard Damon’s doing the arena match!”
“This session is already perfect!”
Selene grabbed Lyra’s arm so hard she almost dropped her books. “We have to go watch them! It’s the Night Riders!”
Lyra laughed nervously.
Selene, who had just insulted Kael two seconds ago, was suddenly glowing with excitement.
“Come on, Lyra!” Selene squealed. “This is how the new session starts!”
Lyra hesitated for barely a second before letting Selene drag her toward the stadium. The entire academy was already heading in the same direction.
Nocturne’s stadium was massive, built like an arena for royalty. It held both the underground race track and the Blood Arena field where the academy’s elite athletes trained and competed.
Because in Sangravia, sports were not just games, they were displays of power. Strength, speed, dominance, these things mattered almost as much as blood status.
And no student embodied those things more than the Night Riders, the mixture of the gold bloods and red bloods on the rides has always been a fun thing to watch. The crowd poured into the stadium seats, buzzing with excitement. The air was electric.
Students waved banners in House colors, girls screamed names, and music pounded through the speakers. Lyra and Selene found seats halfway up the stands.
Selene was practically bouncing, “This is going to be insane.”
Lyra had never cared much for the academy sports events, but even she could feel the energy in the air.
Then the announcer’s voice boomed through the stadium, “Welcome your undefeated Night Riders!”
The roar from the crowd was deafening. Bikes burst onto the track one after another, engines roaring like thunder.
The riders moved in perfect formation around the circuit, sharp turns and reckless speed drawing screams from the audience.
At the front were Kael Draven and Damon Thorne.
Even from the stands, Kael was impossible to miss. He rode like he owned the air around him, fast, fearless, effortless.
The crowd screamed his name.
“Kael!”
“Kael!”
“Kael!”
He was their king, and they made sure he knew it. But Lyra barely noticed him, her eyes found Damon.
Damon rode with precision instead of aggression, every movement controlled and smooth.
Where Kael’s style was wild and dominant, Damon’s was steady and powerful. And somehow, that made Lyra stare even more.
The sun caught against his dark hair as he curved around the track, and when he lifted his visor for a moment, the girls around Lyra screamed.
Selene laughed. “Look at them losing their minds.”
Lyra smiled faintly but said nothing, because her heart was racing too but she wouldn't dare scream out loud or carry placards like those girls. That would be sounding herself out and asking for trouble.
The race ended in a burst of cheers as Kael crossed first, Damon right behind him, the crowd erupted behind him and then the second event began, the blood arena match.
This was what Nocturne students truly worshipped.
The riders stepped into the arena dressed in black training gear, and suddenly the atmosphere shifted from excitement to awe.
The matches were brutal but controlled,.combat, speed, and strength on full display. Kael fought like violence had been built into his blood.
The audience roared every time he struck but Lyra’s gaze kept returning to Damon.
He fought differently. There was power in every movement, but also restraint.
He moved with focus instead of rage. And when he pinned his opponent to the mat, the crowd cheered wildly.
As if sensing her stare, Damon looked up, his eyes met hers across the arena and Lyra's breath caught.
For one impossible second, the noise of the stadium disappeared.
Then Damon smiled, just slightly. A warm, easy smile that sent butterflies exploding through her stomach.
Lyra looked away so fast she nearly gave herself whiplash.
Selene smirked beside her, “Oh my God.”
Lyra kept staring at the floor, “What?”
“You like him.”
“I do not.” she denied it immediately.
Selene laughed, “You absolutely do.”
Lyra’s cheeks burned, but she couldn’t deny it any longer. Not when her heart was pounding that hard.
The matches ended with another wave of cheers, and students poured out of the stadium buzzing with excitement.
“That,” Selene declared, “was the best first day ever.”
Lyra smiled and for the first time that day, she almost agreed. Selene drove them straight to her house after school.
The Ardent house was warm in a way Lyra’s never was. The moment they stepped inside, Selene’s mother called from the kitchen.
“Girls! You’re home!”
Her father appeared in the hallway smiling, “Lyra! Good to see you again.”
Lyra smiled shyly. Being welcomed was still something she wasn’t used to.
Selene’s older brother, Rowan, leaned against the wall and grinned the second he saw her.
“Well, if it isn’t Selene’s ridiculously hot best friend.”
Selene groaned, “Rowan, shut up.”
Rowan smirked. “I’m just saying, if Lyra ever gets tired of this friendship, I volunteer.”
Selene threw a cushion at him. “In your dreams.”
Lyra laughed softly. At Selene’s house, she always felt lighter. She spoke more, smiled more and it was one of the only places where she forgot to be afraid. They were the only family in the entire Sangravia that didn't make her worry about her existence. Or maybe it was just common among the Green bloods, they don't take anything seriously just like every kind of blood ever did.
They didn't care about statuses, class wars, or whatever as long as they had a stable home and they earned enough to feed the family. They don't hunger for power, nor would they stand a chance at one, and yet, they were always contented.
If only Lyra didn't have to worry like their lives were transcending and getting along with everyone like Selene did. But how could she when she had dirty blood running in her veins? Selene didn't have to worry because she wasn't like her.
They hurried upstairs to Selene’s room, throwing their bags aside.
Selene flopped dramatically onto the bed, “Party tonight.”
Lyra froze, “You’re serious?”
“Of course I’m serious.”
“Selene…”
“No excuses. You already said yes.”
Lyra hesitated. The truth was, a part of her wanted to go. To feel normal, to do something reckless for once and another part of her just knows...that this could spell disaster for her in the coming days if she were to get in trouble.
Her father won't even care if she dies or lives. She either saves herself or drowns with her problems but then.
“Fine,” she said.
Selene squealed and that's how they showered, changed, and spent the next hour getting ready. Selene wore a fitted emerald dress. Lyra wore a simple black dress that Selene forced on her.
Her silver-blonde hair fell over her shoulders, and when she looked in the mirror, even she barely recognized herself.
“You look incredible,” Selene said.
Before they could sneak out, Selene’s mother stopped them downstairs.
“No parties.”
