Chapter 16-Serena
My head was pounding by the time she finished talking.
Not just from the magic.
Not just from the storm.
From everything.
Heritage. Death magic. Madness. Power.
Raven.
Draugr.
Mate.
Mine.
The words circled each other in my skull like they were trying to form something I wasn’t ready to understand.
Just then—the door burst open. Again.
Wind howled through the infirmary for a split second, green light flaring—and Professor Kenna was simply gone.
No footsteps.
No lingering presence.
Just a swirl of emerald smoke that vanished as quickly as it appeared.
“Okay—nope. Not normal. Still not used to that,” I muttered.
But I didn’t have time to process it.
Because suddenly—everything was loud.
“Serena!”
The room exploded with voices.
Emery rushed in first, practically launching herself toward my bed.
“Oh my God, you scared the hell out of us!”
“You look awful,” Sapphire said bluntly, crossing her arms as she took me in from head to toe.
“Are you okay?” Ursula asked, already at my side, her hand hovering like she wasn’t sure if she should touch me or not.
My roommates flooded in around me.
Warm.
Loud.
Concerned.
And just like that—the pressure in my chest loosened.
Not gone.
But… easier.
“I’m fine,” I said automatically.
Three sets of eyes narrowed at me.
“Liar,” Sapphire said immediately.
“Yeah, no,” Emery added. “You don’t get dragged into the infirmary after fighting Daemon sludge Monsters—I don’t even know what those things were—and then say ‘I’m fine.’ That’s illegal.”
“I second that,” Ursula said gently.
I let out a breath.
“Okay. Well, I’m not dead,” I corrected.
“Low bar,” Sapphire muttered.
Emery grabbed my hand. “We heard what happened. Is it true? Did the Draugr really—”
She stopped herself, like even saying it out loud might summon something.
“Did he really save you?” Ursula finished quietly.
My heart did something weird in my chest.
Too fast.
Too hard.
I swallowed.
“Yeah,” I said, trying to keep it casual. “He did.”
Sapphire leaned forward slightly, eyes sharp. “And you’re just okay with that?”
“I mean, he didn’t eat me, so I feel like that’s a win,” I shot back.
“No, Serena,” she said, more serious now. “That’s not what I meant.”
Emery squeezed my hand tighter. “People don’t just like interact with him. Not like that.”
“Interact?” I repeated. “He literally tackled multiple Daemons off a cliff for me. That feels like more than interaction. He’s a hero!”
“That’s exactly the problem,” Sapphire said.
The room went quieter.
Not silent.
But heavier.
“What do you know?” I asked slowly.
Ursula and Emery exchanged a look.
Sapphire sighed.
“The Draugr isn’t just some hot Monster,” she said carefully. “He’s dangerous, Serena. Not like a gets-cranky-when-you-eat-the-last-chip dangerous. Like people-don’t-walk-away dangerous.”
“He didn’t hurt me.”
“Not yet,” Sapphire replied.
Something in me bristled at that.
“He saved me,” I said, sharper now.
“And we’re grateful for that,” Ursula said quickly, stepping in. “We really are. But Sapphire’s not wrong. The Draugr is unstable. His hunger—”
“I know about his hunger,” I cut in.
Too fast.
Too defensive.
They all noticed.
Emery’s eyes widened slightly. “So, you like talked to him?”
I hesitated.
That pause was enough.
“Oh my God, you did,” she said, equal parts impressed and horrified.
“Serena,” Ursula said softly, “that’s not something people here do lightly.”
“He doesn’t seem like a Monster to me,” I muttered.
Sapphire gave me a look.
“That’s how it starts. But the thing is, Serena, there are real Monsters here.”
The words hit harder than I expected.
Because part of me knew what she meant.
And part of me rejected it completely.
“I’m not stupid,” I said quietly.
“No one said you were,” Emery replied. “We’re just worried.”
About me.
And that landed in a place I didn’t realize was still open.
It felt… nice.
And terrifying.
Because I wasn’t used to it.
We talked after that.
More gently.
They apologized for the bluntness.
For the assumptions.
For not being there sooner.
At some point, Emery squeezed my hand again and said, “You’re one of us now, okay?”
Ursula nodded. “Best friend circle!”
Sapphire didn’t say it—but she didn’t argue either.
The word settled in my chest.
Best friend circle.
It shouldn’t have meant that much.
But it did.
Maybe because I’d spent so long being the girl people avoided.
The girl people whispered about.
The girl who was too much.
Eventually, the nurse came back, checked me over, and cleared me to leave.
“Try not to summon anything catastrophic tonight, ladies,” she said dryly.
“I’ll do my best,” I replied.
“No promises,” Emery added.
We left after a little while together.
The four of us moved through the winding halls of the Asgarheim Runevald Institute without hurrying or worrying.
And it should have felt good.
It should have felt grounding.
Safe.
Instead—it felt off.
The castle wasn’t the same.
Or maybe I wasn’t.
The walls seemed to watch now.
The runes pulsed a little stronger.
The air felt heavier.
Like something had noticed me.
Outside, the storm hadn’t calmed.
If anything—it had deepened.
My stomach growled.
Loudly.
Embarrassing me.
I pressed a hand against it automatically.
“Didn’t they feed you?” Emery asked.
I shook my head. “No, I never got around to eating.”
“That’s not okay,” Ursula said immediately.
She dug into her bag and handed me a wrapped cookie. “Here. Lemon shortbread. I grabbed it earlier.”
“Thanks,” I said, taking it.
I bit into it.
Sweet.
Buttery.
It should have been amazing.
But the second it hit my tongue—something felt wrong.
The flavor dulled.
Flattened.
Each bite made the hollow in my chest worse.
Not better.
I frowned, taking another bite anyway.
“Good?” Emery asked.
“Yeah,” I said automatically.
But it wasn’t.
Not really.
Because whatever this hunger was—it wasn’t for food.
And then—it hit me.
Not a sound.
And not a voice.
An awareness.
Sharp.
Immediate.
Right in the center of my chest.
Like something had reached out and touched me.
I stumbled a step.
“Whoa—Serena?” Ursula caught my arm.
My breath caught.
My heart spiked.
Because I knew what it was.
Who it was.
Raven.
And somehow—he knew exactly where I was, too.
He was here.
Well, not here exactly.
But I felt him.
He was on the rooftop.
Alone.
Rain hammering down on him.
Wings spread.
Fangs out.
His hunger slammed into me like a tidal wave.
Raw.
Violent.
Endless.
My breath caught.
“That’s where this is coming from,” I whispered.
“What?” Sapphire asked.
“Nothing.”
Lie.
It wasn’t nothing.
It was him.
I could feel him.
His thirst.
His restraint.
His pain.
And underneath it—something pulling him.
Toward me.
Toward whatever this madness between us was.
He’d said fated mate, but I didn’t really know what that meant.
A little while later, we made it back to our dorm.
After the usual things, like washing my face and brushing my teeth, changing into clean pajamas, I lay down on my bed.
I stared at the ceiling.
Tried to breathe through it.
My body heated and swelled. I felt so empty. Needy.
And raw with hunger.
And every time I tried to deny it—I’d see his face.
Not the one he wore for the rest of the world but his true face.
Like carved obsidian.
So hauntingly beautiful it hurt to look at him.
I wanted him. I did.
But I replayed Professor Kenna’s words in my head and my stomach turned over.
Wanting wasn’t the problem.
The problem was—I didn’t want to be one of many.
I didn’t want to be a test result.
A compatibility score.
A possible solution.
I wanted a choice and I wanted the truth.
Also, I wanted him to want me.
Not just need me.
Not be assigned to me.
Not be bound to me by some ancient contract.
And that still wasn’t enough.
See, I wanted to be Raven’s only choice.
The storm cracked overhead.
I pressed my hand to my chest.
Whatever bond we’d formed pulsed inside me.
Alive.
Unavoidable.
And even as I told myself to stay away—something deep, ancient, and violet inside me whispered.
Too late.