The first attack

The first attack
Astrid POV

Killian and I sat a little ways off from the loudest part of the festival, tucked beneath the glow of lanterns strung high between the courtyard trees. Around us, laughter roared, the smell of roasted meat and sweet wine filling the night, but here it was quieter, almost intimate. He leaned back, his shoulder brushing the edge of the bench, his gaze locked on me like I was the only person in this sea of bodies.

“You’ve hardly touched your food,” Killian murmured, his tone softer than usual, the Alpha-command edged down into something gentler. “Don’t tell me Dove’s rubbing off on you. She eats like a bird.”

Despite the way my chest felt heavy, I chuckled. “Maybe I just don’t have your wolf appetite. You ate three plates.”

He smirked, a dimple threatening to appear but never quite breaking through. “I’m growing. Alphas need fuel.”

The teasing steadied me, for a heartbeat at least. But then—there it was again. The sway of dizziness, sudden and sharp, like the ground shifted beneath me. My breath caught, and I gripped the bench edge, nails digging in.

“Astrid?” Killian’s voice cut sharp with alarm, his hand lifting instinctively—then freezing midair, as if he remembered the pain his touch caused me. The hesitation in his eyes hurt worse than the burning mark ever could.

The world blurred, sounds dulling into a ringing hum. My vision swam. Somewhere high above, the red glow of the blood moon eclipsed fully, swallowing silver light in crimson shadow. My chest tightened. My head dropped forward—then black.

I was standing. Or floating. Or maybe neither. The place was endless and hollow, dark as a crypt with air thick enough to choke. A figure moved in the distance, each step echoing, each breath rattling like broken glass.

And then I saw him.

The Vampire Lord.

He was taller than a nightmare, cloaked in shadow that bled into the very air, his skin pale as bone, his eyes—oh god, his eyes—like bleeding suns, twin pits of crimson fire that stared straight into me. My pulse skipped, every instinct screaming to run, but my legs wouldn’t move.

He circled me slowly, like a predator savoring prey. His voice slithered around me, low and silk-wrapped venom.
“Little Star… my little star. You shine so bright even here, where light dares not live. Do you feel it? The bond dragging you closer to me? To us?”

I tried to speak but nothing came. My lips moved, but my throat was locked, strangled by his presence.

He reached a hand toward me, long fingers tipped with black claws, and though he hadn’t touched me, the mark on my palm seared, glowing hot as if pressed against a flame. I wanted to scream, to tear it off, but I couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe.

Hours—days—years—it felt endless, him circling me, whispering promises and curses I couldn’t tell apart. His shadow curled around my ankles, tethering me to him, dragging me deeper into his void.

~~

I woke with a scream that tore my throat raw.

My body jerked upright, lungs clawing for air, drenched in sweat. The courtyard lights and laughter were gone—now it was the dim quiet of my dorm room. Killian’s hands hovered near my shoulders, Jason crouched at my side, Dove perched on the edge of the bed. Their faces were masks of fear and worry, shadows under their eyes like they hadn’t left me for hours.

“Stars above—Astrid!” Jason’s voice cracked as he reached for me, then froze an inch away.

I gasped for air, my hair clinging wet to my temples, my heart thrashing like it wanted to tear through my ribs. My palm—oh gods, my palm—

I lifted it into the faint glow of the moonlight.

The mark. It wasn’t pale anymore. It wasn’t faint.

It was glowing.

Black light pulsed from it, eerie and unnatural, veins of shadow threading up my wrist like ink bleeding through paper.

Dove swallowed hard, her voice breaking into the silence. “Astrid… it’s spreading.”

Killian’s eyes locked on mine, filled with pain, fury, and fear he couldn’t mask. Jason’s jaw tightened, his entire body shaking with the need to do something but helpless against the reality that their touch burned me.

I clutched my hand to my chest, panting, sweat dripping down my spine. “He’s here,” I whispered hoarsely, eyes darting between them. “The Vampire Lord. He’s—he’s reaching for me.”

No one moved. No one breathed.

And in that stillness, the mark pulsed again—dark and alive.

The mark still pulsed black when the first scream tore through the academy grounds.

It wasn’t the carefree sound of festival laughter—it was a shriek of terror that froze every muscle in my body. Killian snapped his head toward the windows, his eyes instantly bleeding gold. Jason rose in one fluid motion, his claws already half-shifted. Dove stiffened, her ears twitching like she’d caught the faintest ripple of sound before anyone else.

Then came the crash—splintering wood, shattering glass—and the world outside erupted.

We bolted. The moment I crossed the threshold of the dorm, the smell hit me—rot and iron, sharp enough to slice through the night air. The courtyard, once glowing with lanterns and laughter, now writhed with shadows. Creatures unlike any I had seen before: hunched, elongated, their bodies little more than smoke wrapped over bone. They moved like ink spilled across the earth, whispering as they surged forward.

And every whisper carried the same word.
My name.
“Astrid… Astrid… Little Star…”

A cold chill ran down my spine, the same as in my vision.

The headmaster appeared at the center, robes billowing, his face grim. His voice cut through the chaos, steady despite the screams. “These are not soldiers. They are not here to conquer. They are tests. Sent by the Vampire Lord himself to measure our defenses. Do not underestimate them.” His eyes flicked to me—lingered far too long. “They seek her. They seek Astrid.”

Every gaze nearby snapped to me.

“Get her inside,” Killian barked immediately, his Alpha tone sharp enough to sting. “She’s not fighting tonight.”

Jason echoed, his voice taut with command. “Astrid, you need rest. You’re still weak—”

“I’m not.” My voice cut sharper than I expected, strong despite the hammering in my chest. Their golden eyes locked on me, surprised. “If they’re here for me, then hiding won’t stop them. I fight.”

For a heartbeat, no one spoke. Then Dove’s lips curved, faint but proud, and she said quietly, “Let her.”

And so I did.

~~

The battlefield swallowed me whole. Lanterns swung broken, sparks raining down. Seniors barked orders, corralling the youngest students toward the great hall. I caught sight of Damon and Zora, their towering figures guarding lines of terrified children, ushering them safely through stone arches. Hera was already at the front, a dagger in each hand, slashing through shadows that hissed when steel kissed their smoke. Elsie summoned a whip of raw lightning, her strikes flashing like a storm. Odin’s voice rolled thunder over the courtyard, his wolf snarling beside him, teeth snapping at the dark.

And me—

The moment my feet struck the torn grass, I felt it. A thrum beneath the earth, like a heart beating with mine. The shadows whispered my name again, but now it didn’t freeze me. It ignited me.

Killian shifted partially, claws extending as he tore through two shades. Jason moved like water beside him, silver arc of his blade slicing clean. Dove’s fire flared, burning one into ash. I lifted my hand—hesitant—then instinct surged through me.

The vines beneath the courtyard burst upward at my command, twisting and lashing around the nearest creature. Its smoky form writhed, screeching as thorns speared through it. My other hand stretched toward the moonlight—and it bent. Silver beams broke through cloud cover and wrapped around me, filling me with a warmth that wasn’t heat, but power.

“Stars,” I gasped under my breath, realizing. “I can feel it. All of it.”

The wolf inside me howled, my blood thrummed with vampire hunger, and the witch in me sang ancient words without my mouth moving. It wasn’t separate anymore—it was one.

I stepped forward, power radiating through every inch of me. Shadows lunged. I lifted both palms and the air itself pulsed outward, a shockwave of moonlight and earth that shattered them to smoke.

“Astrid—behind you!” Hera shouted.

I spun just as another creature lunged. Instinct—fangs sharpened, my speed blurring, and before I could think I had it pinned to the ground, my claws sinking into its smoky chest. Its whisper curled against my ear—“Little Star”—before I ripped it apart with a snarl that wasn’t entirely human.

Jason was at my side in a flash, his blade raised, but he stopped cold at the sight of me. Not frightened—awed. Killian’s eyes widened too, catching the way the earth itself shifted under my steps, stones rising to meet my footing, flowers blooming and withering with every strike I dealt.

Dove smirked even as her fire blazed another shadow to dust. “Well, look at you, goddess.”

Elsie laughed breathlessly as she cut another down. “She’s more than that. She’s—she’s unstoppable!”

The battle raged, but for the first time, I didn’t feel like prey. I wasn’t hiding, trembling, waiting to be saved. I was the storm.

Together we fought—Killian’s brute strength and Jason’s precision weaving perfectly with my newfound fury. Hera and Elsie struck from the flanks, Dove’s fire scorching paths open, Odin’s thunder splitting the air. And still, through the chaos, the whispers lingered.

“Astrid… Little Star…”

I clenched my burning palm, the black mark still glowing, and shouted into the storm, my voice breaking like lightning. “I am not yours!”

The ground quaked with every strike.

My bare feet kissed cracked marble, wind rushing through my hair as the battlefield bled with shadow and light. I’d never felt so alive—and so utterly consumed. The moon above hung blood-red, its eclipse bathing the academy in a dark glow. The air was thick with smoke and power, screams and steel, yet something inside me had finally awoken.

Killian tore through two creatures at once, golden eyes aflame, his fangs bared and claws dripping. Jason stood beside me, half-shifted, his growl deep, his back behind mine as we moved in a deadly rhythm—protecting each other, protecting them.

Dove’s magic crackled at the edge of my vision—whips of starlight bursting from her fingers, slicing through shadow. Hera wielded twin daggers like poetry, every twist of her body a line of lethal grace. Elsie’s spells lit the skies like comets. Odin’s sword cleaved through darkness. Even the earth obeyed my call now. My fingers curled and vines erupted from the cracked courtyard, dragging shadowlings down into the dirt. Trees bent to block attacks. Moonlight fell like arrows at my whisper.

And still, they whispered my name.

Little Star… Little Star…

It grew louder. Louder. Until it was all I could hear.

Little Star, come home.

I didn’t know what was real anymore.

“ASTRID!” Killian’s voice ripped through the din, but it was too late—

The world slowed.

A shadow—taller, darker than the rest—slipped from the edge of the chaos. It didn’t run. It glided. And I—like a fool—turned to face it.

Its shape was formless, like smoke made flesh, but its claws were sharp. I barely had time to raise my hand when it lunged.

Pain tore through me.

Its claws plunged into my chest—right above my heart.

I screamed.

Not from fear. But from the burn.

It wasn’t fire.

It was claiming.

Like it was writing something into my very soul.

A second mark.

Over my heart.

Hot. Black. Alive.

My knees buckled, breath stolen from my lungs. I couldn’t hear the others anymore. Couldn’t see them. Just darkness. Just him.

That voice—

Mine…

The shadow’s claws curled deeper, dragging me toward it, into it, into him. The edges of the world bled away, like paper set aflame.

And then—

Nothing but black.