Location: Avalon Elite Academy – East Training Yard, Nightfall
The moon hung low, red and swollen.
Training had ended an hour ago. Caelan and his circle—alongside Cassiel's vampires and Kai's wolves—remained behind for late drills, pushing limits, laughing through sweat.
It was the first time they all felt normal.
Until the wind shifted.
And the shadows moved wrong.
Scene: The Ambush
They came from nowhere.
Figures cloaked in black mist, with eyes like hollow glass and voices like dead leaves.
The Silent Ones.
They didn't speak.
They didn't hesitate.
They attacked.
Scene: Chaos Unleashed
Caelan took the first hit—thrown across the yard, crashing through steel bars, blood in his mouth.
Selene screamed as a blade carved across her shoulder.
Noah dropped to one knee, holding Liora as she gasped from a rib strike.
Zaria fought like fire, but even she couldn't keep three attackers at bay.
Isla shielded Jace, her forearm breaking under a dark, spiked weapon.
And it didn't stop there.
Cassiel was dragged down by his neck, fangs bared in fury.
Vivienne bled from the side, cloak shredded.
Kai roared, half-shifted, but even he was thrown to his knees.
Nyra was clawed along the back, gritting her teeth through it all.
Scene: The Message Delivered
In the center of the carnage, one Silent One stepped forward—taller than the rest, mask cracked, a symbol burned into its palm.
Three slashes. A fang. A crown.
It spoke with a voice like a dying star:
"You are unnatural. You are unworthy.
You are not the future.
You are the mistake."
Then—
It vanished.
Along with the rest.
Scene: Aftermath
Blood soaked the dirt.
The strongest lay winded. Bruised. Cut. Shaking.
And for the first time since they had all met…
The Vales, the vampires, and the wolves bled together.
Caelan (clutching his ribs): "That wasn't a message."
Cassiel (low): "That was a promise."
Kai (growling): "Then we break them… before they break more."