Chapter Seven — Sparks and Suspicion .
Third-Person POV
Sera stared at the sketch in front of her like it wasn't something she drew with her own hands. Weird, she thought. She really doesn't know why she drew it. Three blades. Two separate, mirror opposites—light etched into shadow, and shadow built darker and sharper than night. And the third… merged. Balanced and terrifying in its beauty.
She wondered why she drew it, where she had seen it, if she had seen it. But she would have remembered. It's hard not to remember if you'd seen something like that.
She blinked slowly, pressing her thumb over the darker blade. It felt familiar. Heavy. Like she'd seen it in a nightmare once—or maybe in a memory she didn't remember.
I don't think it's something we've seen before, Vex whispered.
I thought so too.
Ugh. Thinking was exhausting.
She closed her notebook with a soft thud just as someone slid into the seat next to her. Seth. The boy radiated confidence so effortlessly it was disturbing. His grin was resting casually on his lips, but his eyes—those sharp, calculating eyes—stayed on her notebook.
"Here we go," she whispered, but he caught it and chuckled.
"Secret artist?" he whispered.
"Secret person who minds her business. I think some people need to get how to do that too," she replied dryly without looking at him.
He chuckled low. "So hostile this early? I didn't even do anything."
"You talked," she said. "Tragic mistake."
He laughed properly at that, and she felt a few gazes turn their way. Annoying. She really didn't like attention.
"You always this fun in the morning?" he asked, leaning slightly closer.
Sera angled her body away. "Only around people who don't know when to stop talking."
"Ouch." He pressed a hand dramatically to his chest. "Now I'm wounded. Spiritually."
"Be careful," she said, nonchalant. "I might feel bad."
He grinned wider, teeth flashing. "No you wouldn't."
Before she could reply, the classroom door opened again—and Alaric walked in.
He looked like he just went through something difficult. Cold, composed, unreadable. But the second his gaze found Sera—just a millisecond, a twitch of recognition—his jaw tightened.
Seth noticed. Of course he did. His smirk shifted into something curious, then intrigued.
Oh no.
Sera could practically hear the testosterone humming already.
We can't deny he's charming. But he's not here for us, Vex answered.
You mean he's disturbing me for nothing?
I mean he's probably interested in knowing us but not in us or you. Like romantically, Vex answered back.
Oh, I see.
Alaric didn't take his usual seat beside her. Instead, he dropped into a desk across the room, eyes facing forward towards the wall and thinking about his life secrets.
He never looked at walls like that, Seraphine thought. And he never sat away from her. She has to admit it stung a little.
Sera tried—truly tried—to not think about the bathroom incident. To not picture glowing tattoos, guilt-ridden angel eyes, and the awkward, confused tension he carried around like an invisible storm. But the memory sat in her chest like a record player. She remembers his scent. How she felt when he was there with her. How—
I think you should stop now. And you don't want us to be friends with him. Yet you care this much, Vex drawled.
Sera inhaled. Exhaled.
Focus.
It lasted five seconds.
"Your roommate?" Seth asked quietly, tone shifting—less playful now, more probing.
"My roommate," she confirmed, and the words felt heavier out loud.
"And you two are…?"
"Not anything," she cut in. "And not discussing it."
Seth hummed, amused. "Interesting."
"Stop finding things interesting," she muttered.
"Oh no," he leaned back, stretching annoyingly slow, "that's impossible now."
He was trouble. Different from Alaric's quiet storm. Seth was wildfire. Bright, confident, and the type who never doubted he'd get what he wanted.
And currently, he was looking at her like she was something he wanted, not romantically but he did look like he wanted her.
Perfect. Absolutely perfect. She really needed to know what he truly wanted and get it over with.
She forced herself to focus on the board, ignoring both of them. She survived the class, barely. When the bell rang, she was out of her chair before anyone even stood.
Except she wasn't fast enough.
"Hey," Seth called lightly, stepping into her space with infuriating ease. "Let me walk you."
"No."
"That wasn't a question."
"And this isn't a conversation." She turned to leave—
—but Alaric appeared in front of her, expression unreadable, posture a silent warning.
To Seth.
Right in front of her.
She blinked. One second, normal hallway. Next second, celestial boy standing like a guardian statue.
Interesting….
Seth's brows lifted slightly, and his wolf flickered behind his eyes—just enough for someone like her to notice. Oh, he did not like that.
Alaric's voice was calm. Too calm. "She doesn't need company."
"My bad," Seth replied with a slow smirk, "I didn't realize she had a designated shadow."
The air thinned then. Everyone's eyes were on them. Sera sighed. She really didn't want to deal with this. She turned to walk away but both boys grabbed a hand each. They stared at each other, and she stared at them and then her hands.
They both left it and looked at each other, ready to fight.
Sera stepped between them before someone did something stupid. "I can walk by myself. Go… do alpha things."
Seth chuckled, eyes still locked on Alaric like he'd just found a rival he enjoyed too much. "See you later, Seraphine."
He winked at her and left, smirking when he saw Alaric's hands folded.
He walked off leisurely, everyone watching. Some girls whispering and giggling, still watching him.
Silence followed. Alaric finally looked at her, jaw still tense.
"You shouldn't trust him," he said quietly.
"You don't get to decide that."
His eyes flickered with something—frustration? Concern? Something dangerous and fragile. "He's not what he seems."
"And you are?" she shot back.
We got him there, Vex whispered.
I thought you were on his side, Sera replied.
I am but like I said, he smells guilty. The smell is very strong right now.
I see, Sera whispered in her mind.
That silenced him.
For a moment, neither moved. Alaric's chest tightened. Something was changing. Something he didn't have control over, and that terrified him more than Heaven or Hell ever could.
Sera turned sharply and walked away. If she stayed, she might say things she couldn't pull back.
Leona found her an hour later in the courtyard, sitting on a stone bench under the shade of a tall silverwood tree.
"You look like you want to punch the air," Leona observed, plopping beside her.
"What do you want," Sera muttered. "Leave. I'm not in the mood."
Leona nudged her lightly. "Oh c'mon. I get that you didn't come with the intention of having friends but can't you have at least one? I won't bother you or anything but just be my friend please?"
You know you want this.
Whatever.
"…Fine."
Leona squealed. "Yesssssssssss. We're going to have soo much fun. Let's start with proper introductions."
Leona kept talking. Sera didn't look it but she was listening. Leona knew she was, so she kept talking about her life, how she came to the school, why she came. The Lux students. Gossip. Her boyfriend.
And just like that, the tension cracked—just a little. Sera let out a breath she didn't know she held.
Leona twisted toward her, lowering her voice. "So… two hot boys suddenly acting territorial around you. Must be enjoyable."
"It's annoying," Sera corrected. "And confusing. And extremely distracting."
"Mm-hmm." Leona nodded like a wise old grandmother in a teenage girl's body. "Classic symptoms of I actually have no idea. But the other hearthrob, Seth, is extremely attractive. He hasn't noticed me yet but I have. I really have."
Leona groaned, dropping her head into her hands. "Why can't he notice me? I see the way he looks at you and it's not romantically. So I doubt he's into you. So I have a chance."
"I thought you had a boyfriend?" Sera looked up at her. "Also, you can have the angel and the wolf. I didn't come here for that."
Leona leaned closer, gentle but sad. "Yeah, I have a boyfriend but I feel like he's really distant. His name is Damien but I don't know. He's just distant. While with Seth it just feels right. Like I belong to him?"
That made something tight in Sera's chest. "Okay."
Leona sighed. She really needed advice as to why she was feeling this way. Sera however, was thinking about how Leona said Seth made her feel and about how she felt talking to Alaric.
Somewhere above them, the sky rippled. Just once. Like a curtain shifting.
Sera didn't notice.
But far away, in a quiet corner of Heaven, a message dropped into Alaric's mind like a blade of light piercing stone.
Find her. Kill her. Trust no one.
Sent from his father.
He closed his eyes, pulse icy. Nothing about that message felt holy. It felt… desperate. Wrong. Like Heaven feared something.
Or someone.
And the only face that flickered in his mind was hers.
Sera.
He swallowed hard and whispered to no one, "What am I going to do?"
As if somehow, she felt it.
Sera lifted her head in the courtyard, rubbing her arms as a shiver ran through her.
Vex, did you feel that?
I most certainly did.
Leona paused mid-sentence. "You okay?"
"Yeah," Sera said.
Her shadows twitched quietly at her feet, she felt like someone was around.
Watching.
Waiting.
Vex, search around.
Roger.
He slid from her shoulder and disappeared.
Meanwhile, every supernatural in existence—angel, demon, wolf—felt a spark.
Something was coming.
And none of them were ready.
"Geez, what was that?" Leona said as she rubbed her arms.