Chapter 2 HOT BOYS

CHAPTER 002: HOT BOYS

"Thalira!"

The voice is very low, sounding like it’s coming from another world. My head feels heavy. My body’s still shaking from what just happened. When I blink, the white cloaked men are gone.

The air shifts, and suddenly time starts moving again. Wind rushes in, the sound of creaking wood fills the space I was once in. I can almost hear Aunt Helena’s footsteps pounding against the floorboards of the house I just left.

“Thalira, where are you?”

She must have noticed I’m gone or happy that I'm gone.

But I’m not in that house anymore. The world around me feels... different.

Before I can take another breath, I hear voices, four of them.

“She’s here.” one says, his voice calm but deep and commanding.

Another scoffs. “Took her long enough.”

I turn around fast, my heart jumping to my throat.

Four boys stand a few feet away from me, No they are men. They look too perfect to be real.

The first one has sharp blue eyes and blond hair that glows faintly under the moonlight. He looks like the kind of guy who knows people stare at him and enjoys it.

The second one, yellow skin and black curls, he has this careless smirk that says “I’ll break rules just to see you react.”

Then there’s a quiet one with silver-gray eyes and hair that looks like he just walked out of a storm. His stare feels like it can see straight through me.

And the last one... the one with red eyes. He’s leaning on a stone pillar, his arms crossed and watching me like I’m something dangerous and interesting at the same time.

For a moment, I can’t move. They’re too intense, too beautiful and too unreal and I'm totally confused.

The blond one steps forward. “You must be Thalira.”

I blink. “You know my name?”

“Everyone at Duskmoor knows your name.” he says simply.

“Duskmoor?”

“The academy.” the red-eyed one says lazily. “Where beings like you are trained not to destroy the world.”

I stare at him. “Beings like me? I don’t even know what I am.”

The one with the silver eyes speaks for the first time, his voice quiet but sharp. “You awakened something ancient. We all felt it.”

“Felt it?”

“It shook the entire academy.” the blond one replies. “And half the forest.”

The curly-haired boy smirks. “You made quite an entrance, moon girl.”

“Moon girl?” I repeat, confused and annoyed at the same time.

He shrugs. “You glowed like one.”

The blond one who seems like the leader cuts in. “I’m Kieran. That’s Alaric, the idiot with the curls. The quiet one is Cassian, and the moody one with the red eyes is Zev.”

“Moody?” Zev raises a brow. “Says the guy who practices speeches in the mirror.”

Kieran glares. “I don’t…”

“You do.” Cassian interrupts calmly.

Alaric laughs. “He totally does.”

They start bickering like kids, voices overlapping. I stand there, watching in disbelief.

“Enough!” I yell before I can stop myself. “Can you all stop arguing for two seconds?”

They all go silent and look at me at once like a controlled robot.

I fold my arms. “Good. Now can someone explain where I actually am and why I was dragged here without warning?”

Kieran steps closer. “You’re at Duskmoor Academy. You were brought here because your awakening wasn’t normal like other supernatural beings.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means…” Zev says, walking off from the pillar, “ your power didn’t just activate. It screamed.”

“Screamed?”

Cassian nods slightly. “It called to us.”

“To you?” I frown. “Why you?”

Kieran exchanges a quick glance with the others. “Because we’re the only ones who can help you control it. Or stop it from killing you.”

My stomach drops. “Killing me?”

He didn't answer, he just watched me with that unreadable expression that makes my pulse quicken and my patience burn.

“Great.” I mutter. “Dragged out of my house by weird men and now told I might die. That's a perfect birthday gift.”

Alaric chuckles. “She’s funny. I like her.”

“I’m not here to be liked.”

Zev smirks. “Good. You won’t be.”

Before I can respond, Kieran says, “Come on. I’ll show you your room.”

Alaric steps forward. “No, I’ll do it. You scare new students.”

Kieran narrows his eyes. “I don’t scare…”

Cassian sighs. “I’ll show her. Both of you talk too much.”

“Like hell you will.” Zev says. “She’s not your responsibility.”

I raise my voice again. “Stop! I can find it myself.”

They all stop mid-argument and look at me.

I glare back. “You’re all acting like children.”

There was silence for a moment. Then Alaric grins. “Feisty. I definitely like her.”

I ignore him and walk away before any of them can stop me. The stone path glows faintly under my feet as I move deeper into the academy grounds. The buildings were tall, gothic, beautiful and terrifying all at once.

It feels like a dream I can’t wake up from.

When I finally find a door with my name carved into it, I push it open.

The room takes my breath away.

It was massively big and elegant. A bed fit for a queen, soft silver curtains, moonlight spilling through the glass windows.

For a second, I almost forget how weird this day has been. I fall onto the bed, sinking into the comfort.

Maybe I can just sleep and figure everything out later.

My eyes start to close.

Then something touches me.

A light brush along my arm. Then my waist.

I jolt up, my heart pounding. “Who’s there?”

There was no answer. I pull the blanket up my body and look around. There was nothing.

Then I feel it again, an invincible fingers tracing the side of my neck it slow and teasing.

My breath hitched.

“Stop.” I whisper. “Who’s there?”

It feels like someone’s beside me, breathing softly, but there’s no one.

I could feel the heat rushing through me, it was strange and overwhelming. My skin burns under the unseen touch. My heartbeat quickens until I can barely think.

I try to move, but it’s like something holds me down, not hard, but gentle,

Then a low whisper grazes my ear.

"Found you."

I froze.

The voice is deep, familiar, but I can’t place it.

“Who are you?” I whisper.

No response, but only the faint warmth of the breath on my skin.

I sit up, gasping. My body still tingles and aches. The air smells faintly of pine.

My reflection in the mirror shows my cheeks flushed.

I don’t know what that was. I don't know if it's a dream or a spell or if it could be a ghost.

The thought makes my body cringes.

Outside the window, the four boys stand in the courtyard, their faces half hidden by the moonlight.

Cassian’s voice breaks the silence. “Did you feel that?”

Kieran nods slowly. “She’s already changing.”

Alaric whistles low. “This is gonna be fun.”

Zev’s eyes glow red in the dark. “Or dangerous.”