CHAPTER THREE
The secret; Truth Revealed
Seraphinna slowly opened her eyes and looked around.
Her brows furrowed.
"Where am I? This isn't the headmaster's office."
She pushed herself up from the ground and began walking, hoping to find a way out.
Darkness surrounded her. She couldn't see where she was going, nor could she tell how far she had travelled.
Suddenly, a bright light shone directly on her.
She immediately raised her hand to shield her eyes. After a while, when the brightness had diminished, she slowly lowered her hand.
Her surroundings had changed.
The darkness was gone, replaced by a completely different environment. Seraphinna's frown deepened as she tried to understand what was happening.
"Mom, I'm scared."
A little boy's voice broke the silence.
"Don't be scared, my son. You'll do great," a woman replied soothingly.
"When has my son ever been a scaredy-cat? Where's that brave little boy of mine?" a man's voice added playfully.
Seraphinna blinked.
They sound like a family of three. But where are they?
Before she could figure out the answer, three figures walked straight past her.
Her eyes widened in shock.
"Isn't that Mom and Dad?"
She stared at the couple, then shifted her gaze to the children walking beside them.
"Ethan and Nathan?"
Her mind raced.
"But where are they going?"
She looked around, finally paying attention to her surroundings.
A gasp escaped her lips.
"Wait! Did my brothers attend this school? No wonder they know the headmaster!"
Before she could make sense of what she had just witnessed, the scene changed again.
This time, she watched as the same headmaster attempted to frighten her brothers.
Unfortunately for him, the prank didn't go as planned.
Seraphinna stood frozen, watching everything unfold.
She didn't understand what was happening. Everything she saw felt strange, yet somehow familiar.
What was this place?
And why was she being shown these things?
---
Back in the headmaster's office, the atmosphere was tense.
Everyone's attention was fixed on the unconscious girl lying on the sofa.
"Did you really have to show her everything like that?" Ethan growled.
The headmaster barely spared him a glance.
"Little wolf, don't you dare growl at me. I'm doing you all a huge favour."
His tone was utterly nonchalant.
"We didn't ask for it," Nathan retorted.
Suddenly, the temperature in the room dropped.
An oppressive force filled the air, pressing down on everyone present. The atmosphere became so heavy that standing upright was difficult.
Yet the man responsible for it remained comfortably seated in his armchair.
His expression darkened.
"You, of all people, should know better than to provoke me."
His voice was deep and cold.
"Besides, she's stronger than you think. She'll be able to handle it."
Neither brother dared to respond.
The pressure eventually subsided, but the tension remained.
No one spoke again.
Minutes passed, stretching into what felt like hours, until the girl lying on the sofa finally stirred.
Her eyes flew open, revealing a pair of bright, misty green eyes.
She blinked several times, trying to orient herself.
After looking around and confirming that she was back in the headmaster's office rather than the strange place she'd just experienced, she released a relieved sigh.
Ethan and Nathan, seated directly opposite her, stiffened when they noticed she was awake.
For a moment, neither knew what to do.
Should they rush to her side?
Or should they wait and see how she reacted?
Remembering how fiercely she sometimes resisted their attempts to comfort her, they decided on the latter.
Seraphinna remained lying on the sofa for another thirty minutes, silently processing everything she had just discovered.
Even now, it didn't feel real.
Finally, she sat upright and stared intently at her brothers.
Then her gaze shifted to the man seated in the armchair behind them.
Sensing her intense scrutiny, the headmaster slowly opened his resting eyes.
His gaze met hers.
For some reason, he couldn't shake the feeling that there was something unusual about those bright green eyes.
"You've finally woken up," he remarked.
Seraphinna didn't bother with pleasantries.
"What are you?"
The headmaster raised an eyebrow at her directness.
"A hybrid. A combination of a witch and a vampire."
She hadn't expected such a straightforward answer, but at least it saved her from having to endure a long explanation.
"What exactly did you do to me?"
"I manipulated your mind to make you see what I wanted you to see. In simple terms, I placed you in a dreamscape."
Seraphinna fell silent for a moment, absorbing his explanation.
Then she looked directly into his eyes again.
"What am I?"
The headmaster leaned back in his chair.
"That, I don't know. But you can ask them."
He gestured toward her brothers.
Seraphinna turned to face them.
Both looked slightly uneasy under her intense gaze.
Finally, Ethan spoke.
"We don't know either."
Before she could respond, he continued.
"When you were little, you were kidnapped. We searched for you for months before we finally found you."
He paused briefly.
"When we brought you back, we discovered that you didn't seem to possess the usual signs of any supernatural being. We continued observing you over the years, hoping something would eventually reveal itself. But even now, there's still no sign."
Seraphinna frowned as she processed this revelation.
Then another question came to mind.
"Was our parents' death an ordinary accident, or were they attacked?"
Nathan answered this time.
"Whoever kidnapped you wasn't satisfied with you surviving. They planned another attack, and that was what led to our loss. Mom and Dad tried to protect you."
Seraphinna fell silent.
Her thoughts drifted back to the strange scene she'd witnessed in the dreamscape.
Her parents.
Her brothers.
The school.
Everything seemed connected somehow, but she couldn't quite put the pieces together.
After a while, she finally asked, "What made you decide to tell me the truth now?"
Both brothers sighed.
"Whoever was after you never stopped looking for you," Ethan explained. "That's why we kept moving from place to place. We thought that if we stayed somewhere long enough, we would be putting you in danger."
He lowered his gaze briefly before continuing.
"But we can't keep running forever. We eventually realised that the safest place for you is here. That's why we brought you to this school."
Suddenly, everything began to make sense.
The constant moving.
Her brothers' overprotectiveness.
The strange events she had never quite understood.
For the first time, she began to see that there was more to her life than she had ever imagined.
The headmaster, who had remained quiet throughout the conversation, finally spoke.
"You seem to have known something about this before today. Am I right?"
Seraphinna lifted her head and studied his face before answering.
"Yes."
The short response stunned everyone.
Neither Ethan nor Nathan had expected her to admit it so casually.
"What do you mean?" Ethan asked.
"Simply that I already knew something was going on. I just wasn't sure whether my suspicions were correct. Now, I know they were."
She spoke as though she were discussing something completely ordinary.
Nathan stared at her.
"If you already knew, why didn't you ask us?"
Seraphinna looked down at her hands.
"Before Mom and Dad died, Mom told me something. She didn't explain everything directly, but she dropped a few hints."
She paused, glancing at their faces.
Both brothers looked shocked.
Even Ethan, who usually maintained his composure, had developed a deep frown.
Seraphinna noticed their reactions.
"So..." she continued, drawing out the word slightly.
Neither brother knew what to say.
After a moment, she turned toward the headmaster.
"How did you know I'd already figured something out?"
Demetrius had closed his eyes again and was resting comfortably in his armchair.
"You're quite unusual," he replied. "Most people wouldn't discover something like this without screaming in shock or demanding a hundred explanations. Yet here you are, calmly accepting everything."
Seraphinna said nothing.
For a while, the room remained completely silent.
---
Thirty minutes later, Seraphinna stood outside the headmaster's office with her luggage beside her.
She watched as her brothers prepared to leave.
"We should get going," Ethan said.
Seraphinna nodded, though a small part of her wanted them to stay.
After exchanging a few final words, she waved goodbye and watched them disappear down the corridor.
Once they were gone, she turned around.
The headmaster was already walking away.
Without saying anything, Seraphinna picked up her luggage and hurried after him.
As they walked through the halls, she couldn't help looking around.
The building was unlike anything she had ever seen.
The walls were decorated with intricate designs that seemed to belong to another era, yet the architecture itself incorporated modern elements.
Historical elegance blended seamlessly with contemporary design.
Seraphinna had to admit that she was impressed.
After what felt like a long walk, they finally arrived at an enormous pair of doors.
Demetrius stopped and turned to face her.
"Beyond these doors lies a world you never knew existed," he explained. "At this school, our aim is to bring out the best in every student."
He paused, studying her carefully.
"And you, Seraphinna Abaddon, are a very special being."
With that, he pushed the doors open and stepped inside.
Seraphinna took a deep breath.
For a moment, she hesitated.
Then, gathering her courage, she followed him.
The instant she stepped through the doorway, a brilliant light greeted her.
She instinctively raised her hands to shield her eyes.
A few seconds later, the brightness faded.
Slowly, she lowered her hands.
And froze.
Before her lay a sight so extraordinary that she could barely believe her eyes.
She turned toward the headmaster, who was standing beside her.
Demetrius smiled warmly and extended his hand.
"Welcome to Arcania Crypta High, where ancient secrets meet modern magic."
Seraphinna stared at him for a moment.
Then a smile spread across her face.
She reached out and shook his hand.
And just like that, everything began.