Chapter 3

Sounds. From afar, I hear strange, thinning sounds. Light. I feel the intense sunlight pressing against my closed eyelids, as if the morning rays were playing on my skin. Suddenly, I wake up to a sharp poking.

I barely open my eyes, but it's enough to realize that the blonde girl is trying to shake me awake.

"Elis, don't pull so hard! Let her wake up normally," I hear Clara's firm voice.

"But she sleeps through days of the year! How am I supposed to spend the day with her like this?"

"Stop whining, blondie, I can't sleep because of you!" I murmur, struggling to wake up.

"Thank God!" she exclaims, jumping into my arms.

Clara approaches me with steady steps and hugs me gently. Her face shows regret. She lied about letting me in, but I lied to her too, so I guess we're even.

"Should I bring you something to eat or drink?" she asks in a warm, caring voice.

"No need, Mom," Elis answers for me. "We'll have breakfast in the city!"

"Breakfast?" I look at her, confused. "Is it really morning already?"

"Yep, this little adventure knocked you out for half a day," the blonde girl says, leaning against the bed's headboard. "Today's our last day here, we have to go. So I'll explore the city with you before I leave you with its residents." She winks at me. My stomach tightens.

"Why?" I ask them, bewildered.

"Because…" Clara clears her throat. "Because whoever truly let you in won't let you leave. Since only influential heirs can invite others, it's questionable who did it. According to the deputies, it might have been the ruler."

"The ruler?" Elis looks at her mother in shock. "Why would he keep her here? Is he even around? Isn't he lazing underground…"

"Watch what you say while we're here!" Clara scolds her firmly. "The main reason is clear. She came here uninvited, and he won't let her go, not even for two weeks, until she serves her time." Clara takes a deep breath.

"Listen, dear, I'll protect you as best as I can. I've arranged it so you won't get any particularly dangerous tasks, but unfortunately, once I leave, my influence won't reach here anymore. This city, its residents, they're not like they used to be. They're no better than us, just because they have their own laws. But treat the powerful with respect, as I taught you. Here, take this USB drive. It has everything we learned about them, review it!"

"I'm so sorry," I say remorsefully.

"Oh, sweetheart, this is just experience for you. But I have to go. John is holding down the fort at home, but corporate life doesn't stop. Just one thing—stay calm, be compliant, and there won't be any trouble." She kissed my forehead and gave her daughter a similar farewell before walking out. She was never this restrained, but both the blonde girl and I felt her heart breaking. Even though she's not human, she and John did everything to fit into society, living a business life and trying to balance between their worlds.

As soon as Clara left, the blonde girl jumped up.

"You? Calm and compliant?" She looked at me playfully. "That's what you need to survive here? Darling, either you'll take everyone out, or they'll take you out, but one of those will definitely happen," she laughed.

"You're not ultra funny," I snapped, getting out of bed. Now that I looked around more carefully, everything became clear. I was still in the same room they brought us to yesterday.

"Alright, Little Red Riding Hood, get yourself together quickly! We've only got a few hours left to grab your suitcase and wander through the city," she said, dragging me out from the shadow of the bed. In no time, we pulled ourselves together and set off.

Even though we hurried, as soon as we reached the grand staircase of the building, my suitcase seemed to come to life. One of its wheels hit an uneven stone, and before I realized, the latch snapped, and the lid burst open.

In the next moment, clothes, scarves, and other items flew into the air, like a crazy firework exploding. The fabrics spread across the steps in colorful waves.

Elis threw herself into the chaos without a second thought, frantically trying to gather the scattered clothes, while I still stood frozen in shock.

And that's when I felt it.

A gaze.

Cold, piercing, and watchful. A shiver ran down my spine, and instinctively, I lifted my head.

At the top of the stairs, in the shadow of the building, stood a man dressed in black. His blond hair was perfectly styled, his blue eyes glinting with an icy sharpness as he surveyed the scene. He didn't look surprised—more like someone observing a pitiful, embarrassing sight.

Elis was still kneeling on the ground, desperately trying to salvage what she could, while I finally forced myself to move and help her. But just then, the man spoke.

"It's not customary to leave one's belongings scattered like this," he said coolly, without a hint of emotion.

His voice was exactly like his gaze: cold, firm, and anything but kind. For a moment, I wasn't even sure if he was talking to us or just sharing some universal wisdom. But then our eyes met, and it became clear.

He meant us.

And somehow, there was something threatening about it.

Elis's reaction was immediate and defiant. She dropped the clothes she had been holding right onto the ground and stepped forward angrily. Her face was flushed with fury, and as she stood in front of the cold-eyed man, the air around her practically crackled with tension.

"Who the hell do you think you are?!" Elis snapped, glaring up at him. "Talking to ladies like that? Didn't anyone teach you manners?"

The blond man stared at her for a moment before a faint, mocking smirk tugged at his lips.

"In my city," he said softly, yet with unmistakable superiority, "outsiders like you don't tell me how to behave."

Elis's eyes narrowed. I felt the air freeze between us.

"Watch your mouth!" Elis shot back, now jabbing her finger right at his chest. "Because my friend"—she gestured toward me as if I wasn't even standing there—"is about to start her training at the Angel Guardian Academy, and once she's done, she's going to kick your arrogant, icy little ass!"

My throat went dry.

Elis never knew fear—or at least she never showed it—but I was certain she had picked the worst possible person to challenge.

The man didn't back down. One of his eyebrows arched slightly before his gaze shifted to me.

"Well then, I look forward to it," he said, and his smirk didn't waver in the slightest.

After that, he didn't spare us another glance. As if nothing had happened, he turned on his heel and headed up the stairs, his steps long and purposeful.

His strange, cold presence still lingered in the air even as he walked away. Elis stood there, arms crossed, watching him go, probably plotting a hundred different ways to take him down.

I, however, was still trying to process the weight of the encounter.

There was something about him… something unsettling. It wasn't just his arrogant demeanor or the way he had coolly assessed us—it was the feeling he left behind. As if his mere presence had been a warning.

Elis, however, didn't share my concerns.

"What the hell was that?!" she burst out, still fuming. "How can someone be that insufferable? I swear, if I see him again, I—"

"Elis," I cut in cautiously, trying to calm her down. "Maybe it's best if we don't draw even more attention to ourselves."

She rolled her eyes but finally let out a deep sigh and bent down to gather my scattered clothes again. I helped her, though my gaze still lingered on the man as he disappeared into the building.

"Come on, Blondie," I said after collecting the last piece of clothing.

"You're not seriously thinking of carrying this wreck, are you?" she asked, eyeing what was left of my suitcase.

"Of course not," I shot her a sarcastic look. "I'll just weave a basket out of your pretty blonde hair instead."

Cue the classic eye-roll.

The rest of the afternoon was spent in a similar playful, teasing mood. My clothes were lost, and neither of us felt like carrying around the remnants of my past.

It might have seemed like an innocent, obligatory sentence I had to serve, but deep down, we both knew—it wouldn't be that simple.

The streets stretched longer and longer, as if the city itself was trying to prolong the inevitable. Elis walked me through every alley and square, but my stomach tightened with every step. We had never walked together in such silence before. I knew we were reaching the end.

When we finally stopped, Elis took a deep breath.

"Take care of yourself," she said quietly. "I'll visit as soon as I can."

I nodded, but no words came out. I just looked at her, trying to memorize every tiny detail of her face—her playful smile, her annoyingly perfect features.

The moment was broken by approaching footsteps.

The arrogant woman arrived, flanked by two figures in dark clothing. She didn't even glance at Elis—her sharp eyes were on me.

"Well, well! Here's our little uncultured guest!" she sneered. "Time to go. Our academy is not a charity inn."

"Says the one dressed like a homeless person," Elis muttered quietly beside me, just loud enough for me to hear.

Needless to say, my inner voice was howling with laughter.

Elis hugged me tightly one last time, then whispered in my ear:

– Don't forget who you are, Red. Bite, fight! Be the Avarka I sometimes feared.

Then she let me go.

My steps merged into the hustle and bustle of the city. As we walked, the streets grew wider, and the crowd gradually thinned. We were heading toward the far side of the city, towards an elevated area, over which a massive building loomed. The words froze in me when I looked at it, as if it was a divine miracle. Yet, there was a kind of end-of-the-world atmosphere, which I seemed to find in everything here. It didn't take me long to guess – it had to be the ruler's building. But that wasn't where we were headed.

My eyes were caught by another, closer building. Its robust, ancient stone walls rose darkly above its surroundings, as though it were preparing for battle itself. The gate was massive, with wings that opened toward us, adorned with old symbols at its edges. The space around it wasn't empty – black-clad figures moved everywhere with military discipline.

As we approached, the inner courtyard became visible. Rows of training platforms lined up side by side, and men and women alike trained with weapons and bare hands. The air vibrated with concentration and unshakable determination.

And then I felt it.

A chill ran down my neck, but it was different from the one on the stairs; this was something deeper, bone-chilling.

Someone was watching.

Not just the dark-clad figures, not just the trainers. Another gaze, hidden but sharper than any other.

They knew I was here.

And I knew this was only the beginning.