Chapter 1
I frowned as I dragged all three suitcases out of my room, pausing at the threshold to give it one last look. I was really going to miss my safe space. Over the years, I had transformed it into my dream room—on the right stood a tall bookshelf filled with my favorite novels, each shelf dotted with little trinkets I'd picked up or been gifted. My big, comfy bed—specially picked by Dad because he said every princess deserved to sleep like one—sat across from a white vanity framed with soft LED lights. A pale pink rug sprawled across the floor near the bed, and a glass case displayed some of my favorite action figures like prized trophies. My large desk sat near the window, one of my laptops closed on top of it, surrounded by small souvenirs I'd collected from the human world.
I shut the door behind me and sighed. I didn't want to leave. Not yet.
Sofia, my only human friend, offered no help as I struggled to maneuver the suitcases. Instead, she kept talking, chattering endlessly about her fantasy of dating a Strigoi. She brought it up almost every time she visited me. It was starting to get on my nerves, but I didn't know how to tell her without sounding mean.
"What do you think?" she suddenly asked. I scrambled to recall what she'd just said. "I knew you weren't listening to me!" she huffed, flicking her ponytail over her shoulder.
"What did you ask?" I stopped and turned toward her.
"I asked if I look like Bella," she said with bright eyes, practically glowing with hope. I bit back a groan. She asked me this question every single time we hung out.
"And my answer is always going to be... yes," I said, cringing slightly at my own words. I knew I was encouraging her delusions, but I didn't want to upset her—especially not right before leaving for the whole school year.
Squealing, she grabbed my hands. "I knew it! I always tell my coworkers, but they never listen. Like, I have brown hair and brown eyes—"
Like sixty percent of the human population, I wanted to say. But I held my tongue. I couldn't be mean. Someone will tell her eventually.
"Are you still Team Jacob?" she asked, suddenly serious.
I sighed. "Yes. Bella should have ended up with him. I don't get why anyone would want to be with a vampire. They're dead. They see humans as cattle."
"That's not true..." she murmured, looking away. She didn't interact with vampires. She never had to attend school with them. She didn't know them. "...How can you say that when you're half vampire?" she added quietly.
"Because I don't feel like one," I muttered. And it was true. I looked fully human. No sharp teeth. No bloodlust. No glowing red eyes or super speed.
"When can I see Alaric again?" she asked suddenly.
"I don't know," I said, but what I really meant was: hopefully never. Alaric had made it clear he didn't like her, and she wasn't even supposed to be talking to Strigoi, let alone trying to flirt with one.
As I reached the top of the grand staircase overlooking our massive foyer, Mina came bustling up the stairs, surprisingly fast for a woman her age. "Amara, baby, why didn't you ask for help with your suitcases?" she scolded. Her eyes flicked to Sofia with a glare. "I see your friend decided not to help you."
"She didn't ask for help," Sofia replied, completely missing the venom in Mina's voice.
Mina's expression twisted in fury. "Don't make me—"
"Mina," I interrupted, gently grabbing her hand. "Can you help me with the suitcases? Please?"
She gave me a long look, then huffed. "You're too sweet for your own good. That's why I love you."
"And I love you, too," I said, smiling up at her.
Mina had been my mother figure for as long as I could remember. I considered her my mom, even though she always told me I shouldn't call her that. I had a biological mother—somewhere. She hadn't visited since I was fifteen and barely did before that. Mina gave an order, and a butler stepped forward to escort Sofia out through the *North Gate. Two others came to grab my suitcases. Sofia looked annoyed but didn't argue. She did not like that she had to stay away from the Strigoi who worked in the house as well.
Mina was our housekeeper. She was in her fifties, with warm chocolate-brown skin and a few streaks of gray in her straightened hair, which was pulled into a tidy bun. She was on the heavier side, always smelled like vanilla and cocoa butter, and gave the kind of hugs that made you feel safe even when the world was falling apart. I told Sofia goodbye quickly, then followed Mina and the butlers outside. "I hope Sofia gets her wish," Mina muttered.
I glanced at her. "What wish?"
"The one that she finds a nice bloodsucker who sucks her dry." I gasped, then burst out laughing. "I don't understand why this generation romanticizes Strigoi," she went on, shaking her head. "They're monsters. Always have been. All that charm and good looks—it's a trap. They use beauty to attract prey."
"She's probably obsessed because of *Alice Rouse," I said. "She was the first author to write about the Strigoi in a romantic way. Made them seem mysterious and sexy."
Mina scoffed. "I blame Lord Lucian of *House Vaelmont."
I nodded slowly. "I suspect him, too." Lucian had visited our estate twice to speak with my father, and both times, I'd seen the way how he looked at the maids. He claimed to love humans, but I didn't believe it for a second. He sounded like he had been in the human world and no Elarin was allowed in the human world and vice versa.
"He's shameless," Mina muttered as she opened the car door for me.
I smiled despite myself. "I guess it's time to go." I looked into the car and sighed.
"Yes. Do well at school, and don't let any bloodsuckers get in your head." She pulled me into a tight hug. I clung to her, not ready to leave. She kissed my forehead, and I felt the tears prick at the corners of my eyes.
"You'll be okay, sweetheart," she said gently. "Just don't forget to call me."
"I will," I whispered, nodding as I climbed into the car.
"Are you ready, Miss?" the butler asked from the driver's seat.
"Yes. I'm ready," I replied.
As the car pulled away, I waved back at Mina. I checked my phone.No messages. Nothing from Dad. Nothing from Alaric. I sighed, shut the partition window, and leaned back in my seat. I closed my eyes, letting the quiet hum of the road lull me toward sleep.
When I woke up, the butler alerted me that we only had one more hour left before we got to Eldermire Academy. I looked out the car window, trying not to let the rising lump in my throat ruin the moment. I thought about Eldermire Academy, the university everyone seemed so excited about. Everyone except me. My mind kept drifting back to high school—a nightmare I was hoping to never relive.
My dad had thought it would be a great idea for me to attend a Strigoi prep school. I had only been attending human schools at that point. "It'll help you embrace your bloodline," he said. Right. More like he was helping the full-blooded Strigoi find new ways to make me feel like garbage. The school was built for them, not someone like me—a half-blood. I was different, and not in a cool mysterious way. More like in a "let's pretend you don't exist unless we're mocking you" kind of way.
I crossed my arms, letting my head rest against the cold window. The bullying had been nonstop. Comments about how I didn't smell right. Whispers about my human habits. And then there was her—the queen of torment. She made it her mission to make my life miserable. I still remember the way she looked at me like I was something sticky on her shoe. Ugh. I don't even want to think of her name. Please don't let her be at Eldermire. Please, universe, I'm begging you.
"We've arrived, Miss," the driver said, pulling me out of my spiral of trauma.
I looked up and felt my stomach twist. The car slowed down, and I straightened up as the campus came into view. Eldermire was... intimidating. Beautiful, yes—but also the kind of place where magic clung to the walls like ivy. The buildings were made of old gray stone, tall and regal, with stained glass windows that shimmered with enchantments. Students were everywhere, carrying books, talking in strange languages, wearing robes or sleek black uniforms.
And then I saw them—*the Gilded Ones.
Fae.
They walked like they owned the place, and maybe they did. Their skin shimmered in sunlight, their hair flowed like liquid metal, and their clothes looked like something off a fantasy runway. Some had different colored hair that looked natural. Others had flowers blooming in their hair or floating alongside them. One girl had golden vines twisting down her arms like bracelets that moved on their own. I gawked. Subtly, I hoped. I'd read about fae, but seeing them in person was something else. They didn't even feel real. Just a burst of color and elegance and magic.
"Amara!" I turned at the familiar voice and saw Alaric walking toward me, cool and composed like always. His silver-blond hair was perfectly styled, and his coat caught the breeze dramatically because, of course, it did.
I smiled—probably too much. "Alaric."
" I have missed you," he said, as he gave me his cold hand and helped me get out of the car. "Let me walk you to your dorm?"
I nodded quickly. "Sure."
He ordered his butlers to pick up my suitcases. I said bye to my butler and followed Alaric who had somehow already known the way to my dorm room. But that was just how he was, sweet. Walking beside him through campus made me feel happy... until the stares started. Girls. Mostly Strigoi. Watching him. Some even whispered. One of them actually bit her lip. I tried not to roll my eyes. Alaric didn't ignore them either. He smiled. Smirked. Tilted his head just right. He liked the attention. I told myself not to care, but I still felt something cold in my chest. He would never look at me like that. We walked in silence for a bit, and I tried not to let the hurt show on my face.
"This is you," he said, once we had entered a building and walked in it for a few minutes until we found my dorm room.
"Thanks," I said softly.
"You'll like it here," he said, his voice warm. "It's not like high school."
I looked at his brown eyes and I could tell he was sincere. I nodded. "I hope not."
Crash!
The door had opened abruptly and something wet and sticky splattered across my shoulder and down my side. I let out a startled gasp and stumbled back. It was purple and sparkly and definitely magical.
"Oh no no no no—UGH, not again!" a voice cried.
I blinked through the mess and saw a girl standing in the middle of the dorm room with glowing hands and a look of complete panic on her face. Her brown curls were wild, and one of her boots was on fire. Just slightly. Floating above her head was what looked like an open spellbook leaking mist.
"I was just trying to set up my self-cleaning charm! It wasn't supposed to explode!" she said, her voice squeaky with panic.
I turned to Alaric, thinking maybe he'd been hit too. But he was clean. Spotless. Standing way behind me. He had dodged the entire thing with his Strigoi speed. He looked at me, then at the mess all over my jacket, and he laughed. I glared. "Glad one of us has reflexes."
"I told you you'd have an interesting time here," he said, grinning like he found this whole thing hilarious.
I narrowed my eyes at him, then turned back to the girl. She hurried forward and waved her glowing hands in little circles. "Hold on, I got it—reverse spark, undo splash—something something soap?!" She said as it looked like she was trying to remember something. Her glowing purple eyes looked at me frantically. The purple glittery mess lifted off me slowly—some of it, anyway—and hovered in the air like a slow-moving cloud. She continued to mutter a spell in a language I couldn't understand till it fell in a bucket.
"I'm Ciela!" she said, like that would explain anything. "I'm your roommate! Welcome to the chaos!"
I blinked at her.
She grinned.
I sighed.
College was already off to a fantastic start.
The Grimoire of the Forgotten🧙🏾♀️
The North gate- The designated exit for humans departing from the Desai compound.
Alice Rouse- The first known human author to romanticize and sexualize Strigoi in literature. Recognized for redefining the portrayal of vampires from monstrous predators to alluring, seductive figures. (I actually wanted to write Anne Rice but I wasn't sure if I could do that. I looked her up a few days ago and now I'm curious. Has anyone read any of her books?)
House Vaelmont- the third noble Strigoi house.
The gilded ones- the fae
The song I'm listening to as I type this- Most Girls- by Hailee Steinfeld.
