Gone?

Gone?

Astrid POV

His presence was suffocating, heavy like smoke in my lungs, but his voice— gods, his voice—was warm, coaxing, almost tender.

“My daughter,” he said again, his gaze fixed on me like I was the only soul in existence. “Why do you tremble? I am not your enemy. I am your blood. Your father.”

I shook my head, backing away until the edge of my bed pressed into my calves. “You’re no father. You’re a curse that won’t leave me alone.”

He smiled faintly, a smile that carried both menace and strange pride. “I am both, perhaps. But curses and blessings are a matter of perspective. If you join me, Astrid, you will never need to fear again. Your friends will be spared. Your world will remain untouched. All I ask… is you.”

I felt bile rise in my throat. “Spare me the theatrics.”

But then his gaze slid to Dove—sleeping, oblivious, curled under her blanket like a child. His hand lifted lazily, and with a flick of his wrist, shadows curled into the shape of a blade, black and glistening, hovering above her chest.

“No!” The word tore out of me as I stumbled forward, my heart thundering so hard I thought it might shatter.

He tilted his head, watching me with unsettling calm. “Do you see? I could end her now. One thought. One breath. And she is gone. Unless…” His free hand extended toward me, palm open, patient. “You come with me. Willingly.”

My knees buckled. I fell before him, hands digging into the floor, tears blinding me. “Please… please, don’t hurt her. Don’t touch her. She’s innocent—she has nothing to do with me!”

His voice lowered, smooth as silk. “What I want is simple.”

I swallowed, voice cracking. “What?”

“You.” His eyes gleamed like molten fire and shadow. “You come back with me, Astrid. To where you belong.”

I froze, horror crawling under my skin.

Before I could answer, before I could even breathe, his hand brushed the air again and suddenly my mind wasn’t mine anymore—he was inside.

Visions crashed into me like fire and lightning.

The academy in ruins.

Screams splitting the air.

Bodies—familiar faces, all lifeless. Killian, Jason, Dove, Elsie, Odin, even Sera—falling, burning, choking on shadow.

The library ablaze. Dormitories collapsing into black fire.

Every friend I had made, every soul I had ever known—gone.

“No!” I screamed, clutching my head as the agony consumed me. “Stop! Please!”

But he didn’t stop. He made me watch. Made me hear their voices fade, one by one, until there was only silence and ash.

And then—darkness. A hollow kingdom where only he stood beside me, throne waiting, crown gleaming like blood.

I gasped, ripped back into reality, tears spilling hot down my face. My body shook violently, breaths shallow. He was still there, looming above me, patient, cruel, blade poised above Dove’s sleeping form.

I turned to her, my chest splitting open with grief. Her soft breaths, her messy hair spilling over her pillow, her paint-stained hands clutching the blanket. She didn’t even know.

Dove… I’m sorry. My lips trembled as I whispered in my mind, desperate, broken. Please… please find me. Don’t let me disappear.

When I lifted my head again, my vision blurred with tears, I met his burning eyes. “Fine.” My voice cracked, shattered. “I’ll go with you. Just… don’t touch them. Don’t ever come back here.”

A flicker of triumph passed across his scarred face. Slowly, he lowered his hand, and the shadow blade dissolved into smoke. “As you wish. I give you my word—your academy will never know my wrath. Not while you are mine.”

I wiped furiously at my tears, though they only kept coming, hot and endless. My chest hurt so much I could barely breathe. “Promise me.”

“I promise.” His voice wrapped around the words like chains, sealing them.

He extended his hand again. I stared at it, trembling, then finally placed my shaking palm in his. His touch was both burning hot and freezing cold, searing through me.

The portal yawned wide behind him, shadows stretching across my room. My father—my monster—pulled me toward it, and my legs moved like they weren’t my own.

I glanced one last time at Dove. Her peaceful face, her steady breath. She had no idea what I had just given up. No idea that everything I was, everything I could have been—was gone.

Tears blurred my eyes as I whispered inside my heart, I’m sorry. Please… save me.

And then the shadows swallowed me whole.

Hours Later

Jason POV

I blinked awake to the early slivers of light creeping through the curtains, my body warm, heavy, and for a second—just a second—I thought everything was perfect. Astrid curled in the middle, me and Killian keeping her safe on either side. That’s how it should’ve been.

But when I reached out, all I touched was cool sheets.

I frowned, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. “Astrid?” My voice was rough, thick with sleep. No answer.

I pushed myself up on my elbows, scanning the bed. Nothing. Just Killian sprawled out, snoring softly, his arm thrown over the empty space she should’ve been in.

I shook my head with a sigh. “Why did you leave?” I muttered under my breath, dragging a hand down my face. Typical Astrid—always slipping away when we’re not looking.

Beside me, Killian stirred. His eyes cracked open, red from sleep, then darted to the empty mattress. His expression hardened immediately. “Where the hell is she?”

“She wasn’t here when I woke up,” I said, standing and stretching out the stiffness in my limbs. “Guess she snuck back to her room.”

Killian swung his legs off the bed and sat up, running both hands through his messy hair. “Damn it, Astrid…” He pulled on his shirt, then got to his feet beside me.

We walked out of the room, still half-groggy, only to nearly collide with Dove in the hallway. She stood there with her arms crossed, a playful smirk tugging at her lips.

“Well, well,” she teased. “You two have the guts to steal my roommate away and then come waltzing out here alone without her?”

I groaned, dragging a hand through my hair. “Relax, Dove. She didn’t wake up in our room.”

Her smile faltered. “What?”

Killian’s eyes narrowed. “You mean she’s not in your dorm either?”

Dove shook her head slowly, frown deepening. “No… she wasn’t there when I woke up.”

For a moment, silence hung heavy between us. A weird tension, something none of us wanted to name out loud.

Zora appeared at the end of the corridor, sleepy-eyed, her braid loose over one shoulder. She yawned, catching the tail end of the conversation. “Maybe she left early. You know Astrid—always doing her own thing before the rest of us wake up.”

I forced a nod, though something in my gut didn’t settle. “Yeah. Maybe.”

Dove exhaled, rubbing her arms, then gave us both a small nod. “Fine. But if you see her before me, tell her she owes me breakfast for disappearing.”

“Deal,” I said automatically.

Killian didn’t even smile. His jaw was tight, his eyes shadowed, and when Dove and Zora drifted down the hall together, he turned to me, his voice low and certain. “I’ll go look for her.”

I met his gaze, the unease in my chest growing heavier. “Yeah. We’ll find her.”

But for the first time, I didn’t believe my own words.