1
Lyric
Lyric Rose Kain walked down the dark hallway one night under a full moon, silver light streaming through the windows and highlighting the lush carpet beneath her.
She didn’t need the light to see; her advanced sight let her see through the darkness. Her footsteps were silent as she continued down the hall, past the doors lining the walls. She listened closely and heard the occupants of the room sleeping, their soft sighs and snores, turning in their beds, assuring her they were safe.
When she reached the room she was checking, there was only silence. She stopped, listening closely, praying to the Fates she wouldn’t have a repeat of last week. She still heard nothing.
Sighing with exasperation, she fished her set of keys from the satchel she kept tied around her waist and unlocked the door. She pushed it open with a loud creak. Inside, it appeared someone was sleeping in bed, but she knew better. She marched forward and yanked the blankets back and scoffed at the perfectly arranged pillows. Yep. They were going down this road again.
She stormed out of the room, forcing herself not to slam the door behind her so she wouldn’t wake the others, and went to search for the missing girl. And when she found her, she better pray for mercy.
She walked toward the entrance and saw a small, petite figure creeping toward the huge double doors, a bag slung over their shoulder. Lyric hid in the shadows, watching as they cautiously looked around and began to open the doors.
Lyric rolled her eyes and, in a flash, had the girl by her arm, causing her to yelp in surprise. “So I take it last week didn’t stick with you?”
The surprise instantly washed from Emerson’s face as she scowled at her. “What are you doing here?”
“Stopping you from making a stupid mistake. What are you doing here? You know you’re supposed to be in your room, and you can’t leave this building without supervision.”
Emerson snarled at her and tried to yank her arm free. “I’m tired of living in this fucking prison. Just leave me alone.”
Lyric tightened her grip when she tried to free herself again. “This isn’t a prison, you know that; you just don’t like that we don’t let you run around and do whatever you want, and it is my business because I’m your mentor, and I’m going to make sure you get on the right path and ruin your future.”
Emerson shook her head. “I’m so tired of everyone deciding my future when it’s my life. Everyone has told me what to be without asking what I want and deciding everything for me. The only person who gets to decide what I want is me, and me alone! Now let go of me so I can get out of this hellhole and never have to see any of you assholes again.”
Lyric took a deep breath and counted to ten, praying for patience. She wondered if she gave her mentors this much hell at her age. She inwardly winced when she realized she had and made a mental note to send an apology letter as soon as possible.
Lyric walked Emerson to the lobby and sat down. Emerson begrudgingly sat across from her, arms crossed, a furious scowl on her face.
Lyric remembered being in the girl’s position ten years ago, as a teenager, angry at the world, thinking everyone in this place was out to stop her and wanted to get out of here. Her mentor, Fenris, had endless patience for her, even when she’d been a total bitch to him and everyone else. He hadn’t given up on her, no matter what kind of hell she threw at him. If it hadn’t been for him, she would be out there on her own and living in fear all the time.
Lyric’s goal was to help Emerson graduate from the Academy so she could enter the Raven Kingdom, the land where all supernaturals were granted a life where they would be protected under their ruler, Queen Lilith, and given opportunities to create careers, connections, and family.
In other lands, supernaturals were ostracized and mistreated, sometimes hunted down, forced to hide their identities. The Kingdom of Shadows was one of the worst lands to live in, where only the hierarchy, made of humans, socerers/sorceresses, and powerful Seers, were treated with kindness; the others, such as shapeshifters and vampires, were treated like scum and often thrown into prisons and, in worse cases, executed. Lyric heard there were movements to help society evolve in that kingdom, but it was still a place she would never want to enter. And she didn’t want Emerson there either.
“Emerson, I don’t want to argue with you. I understand you want to go out and strike out on your own. I know you think this place is like a prison. I know you feel like everyone is out to oppose you. When I was fourteen, I felt the same way. I was angry and hated this place with a passion and couldn’t wait to leave this place.”
A flash of surprise crossed Emerson’s face. “I didn’t know that.”
Lyric nodded. “I was treated like shit since the time I could walk. The village I lived in hated me for being a vampire-fae hybrid, even though I couldn’t help how I was born. I was bullied, abused mentally and physically, and had everything under the sun thrown at me. I hated the world.
“Then my parents died, and I spiraled and got into worlds of trouble. It landed me here, and I was furious. I wanted nothing to do with this place. I just wanted to leave and be on my own, away from everyone. I didn’t care about entering the Raven Kingdom or knowing about the world.”
Emerson was quiet for a long moment. “So what changed?”
“Fenris, my mentor. I was like you, gave my mentor hell, and wanted to get out of here. He stuck by me and had to literally knock some sense into me that made me realize what an idiot I was being. I knew I had someone in my corner.” She pointed a finger at the girl across from her. “That’s why I’m not giving up on you and why I’m not letting you screw up your life, especially now. This is your third semester here, and if you mess around and fail this time, you’ll be kicked out and on your own.”
“I can take care of myself, Lyric.”
“I don’t doubt that. But you know, as does everyone else, that the Hunters are expanding and moving across the lands. And before you tell me you know how to defend yourself and you aren’t scared of them, but a former classmate of mine went to travel to another land and was murdered by a group of Hunters. She was smart, strong, and trained to go against them, and was traveling with a large group when they were attacked. Even as skilled as she was, she was still murdered.”
She saw Emerson’s face go white at the news. Lyric felt emotion rise inside her as she thought of Morganne. She hadn’t known her that well, had taken several classes with her, but she was always kind to her, and in her world where there were only very few people who were kind to her, it meant a lot to her. Hearing that Morganne had been brutally murdered broke her heart.
Understanding formed in Emerson’s eyes and Lyric nearly slumped with relief. Finally, she’d gotten through to her.
She stood. “C’mon, we need to get some sleep before our lessons in the morning.”
Emerson nodded, and Lyric walked her to her room. She watched Emerson walk inside and slip into bed, pulling the blankets over her. She watched her for a second before softly closing the door behind her.
As she headed back to her room, she prayed that this was a step in the right direction and that Emerson finally listened to reason. She knew the girl had a bright future ahead of her, but it was up to her to capitalize on it.
