POV: Aria
Pain wakes me.
Not physical pain—something deeper. Like every cell in my body is vibrating at the wrong frequency, tearing itself apart from the inside.
I force my eyes open. White ceiling. White walls. The smell of antiseptic and something else—magic, thick and cloying.
"She's awake," someone says.
I turn my head and freeze.
Four men stand around my bed, staring at me like I'm either the most fascinating or most dangerous thing they've ever seen.
The dark-haired one from the ceremony—Caspian—stands closest, his arms crossed. The charming one—Dante—leans against the wall, his usual smile gone. The massive guy with dangerous eyes—Kieran—lurks in the corner like a guard dog. And the one with glasses—Lucian—holds a tablet, his fingers flying across the screen.
"What happened?" My voice comes out raspy.
"You stopped time," Lucian says matter-of-factly. "Eleven seconds of complete temporal suspension across a fifty-meter radius. Your power output exceeded—"
"You nearly died," Caspian interrupts, his voice sharp. "That's what happened."
I try to sit up. Every muscle screams in protest. "Sebastian—"
"Is in the infirmary being treated for minor injuries and major humiliation," Dante supplies, flashing a brief grin. "You put on quite a show."
"I didn't mean to." My hands are shaking. "I couldn't control it."
"Which is exactly why you need proper training," Caspian says, stepping forward. "Come with me to House Sovereign. We have resources, instructors, protection—everything you need to master your abilities before they kill you."
"House Sovereign will just use her," Dante argues, pushing off the wall. "She needs Shadow House. We'll teach her to survive, to fight, to actually defend herself instead of hiding behind political games."
"She doesn't need to fight," Kieran's deep voice rumbles from the corner. "She needs protection. Safety. Somewhere people can't get to her."
"She needs to understand what's happening to her body," Lucian insists, not looking up from his tablet. "None of you are qualified to help her. I am. My research into Eclipse genetics—"
"Stop," I say quietly.
They keep arguing.
"STOP!" I shout.
The lights flicker. All four men freeze, looking at me warily.
"I'm not a prize to be claimed," I say, my voice shaking with anger and exhaustion. "I'm not an asset to be protected or a weapon to be trained. I'm a person. And I'm right here, so maybe stop talking about me like I'm not in the room."
Silence.
Caspian speaks first. "You're right. I apologize." He doesn't sound sorry. He sounds like someone who's used to giving orders and having them followed. "But facts remain—you're in danger. What happened in that arena proved you can't control your power. And there are people who will try to either use you or eliminate you."
"Like who?"
"Like the academy council," Lucian says, finally looking at me. "They were here twenty minutes ago demanding you be placed in 'protective custody,' which is code for imprisonment and study."
My stomach drops. "What?"
"We stopped them," Dante adds. "For now. But they'll be back with more authority and less patience."
"Why do you even care?" I look at each of them. "You don't know me. Why are you all here?"
The question hangs in the air.
Caspian's jaw tightens. "Because you're important."
"Because you're interesting," Dante says with a shrug.
"Because you need someone," Kieran growls.
"Because you're impossible," Lucian admits, adjusting his glasses. "And I need to understand why."
None of those answers make me feel better.
"You felt it too, didn't you?" Caspian asks suddenly. "During the time freeze. You saw us moving when everyone else was frozen."
I did. In those eleven seconds of impossible stillness, I saw four figures rushing toward me through the frozen chaos. Four points of awareness in a world that had stopped.
"What does that mean?" I whisper.
"I don't know yet," Lucian says, typing furiously. "But your power responded to us specifically. Allowed us to move when it should have frozen everyone equally. That suggests—"
"A connection," Caspian finishes. "Between you and us."
"That's impossible," I argue. "I just met you all."
"Eclipse bloodlines work differently," Lucian explains. "They don't just wield power—they create bonds. Soul-deep connections with individuals who complement their abilities. It's how they survived for so long. They built networks of—"
The door slams open.
Headmistress Voss enters, her expression grave. "Gentlemen. Out. Now."
"We're not leaving her unprotected," Caspian says.
"You don't have a choice." Voss's voice carries absolute authority. "This is not a request."
Reluctantly, they file toward the door. Dante catches my eye and winks. Kieran nods once, a promise of protection. Lucian hesitates, like he wants to say something, then leaves. Caspian stops at the threshold.
"This isn't over," he tells Voss, then looks at me. "We'll keep you safe. Whether you want us to or not."
Then they're gone.
Voss sits in the chair beside my bed, suddenly looking very tired. "How much did they tell you?"
"Enough to terrify me. Not enough to help."
She smiles sadly. "That sounds about right." She takes my hand. "Aria, I knew your mother."
My breath catches. "What?"
"We were best friends. She was the most powerful sorceress I'd ever met." Voss's eyes are distant with memory. "When she fell in love with your father—a human with no magic—everyone told her it was impossible. That their child would be powerless or wouldn't survive. But she didn't listen."
"She had me."
"She had you. And you weren't powerless—you were too powerful. So she did something incredible and terrible. She bound your abilities, sealed them deep inside you, hoping they'd never wake up. Hoping you could live a normal life."
Tears burn my eyes. "She died for me."
"She chose you," Voss corrects gently. "The binding ritual required her life force. She knew that. Did it anyway. Because she loved you more than anything."
I can't speak past the lump in my throat.
"But the binding is breaking," Voss continues. "Your powers are awakening, faster than anyone expected. And there are people who will want to control you, study you, or eliminate the threat you represent."
"Like the council."
"Like many organizations. The Eclipse bloodline was hunted to extinction for a reason—that much power in one person destabilizes everything. You're a threat to the established order just by existing."
"So what do I do?"
Voss squeezes my hand. "You have two choices. Hide what you are and live quietly. Or embrace your heritage and claim the power that's rightfully yours. But know this—the moment you choose power, everyone will come for you. Including those four young men who are already half in love with you, whether they admit it or not."
"They don't love me. They don't even know me."
"Eclipse bloodlines create bonds, Aria. Soul-deep connections with people meant to stand beside you. Those four felt it the moment your power awakened. They just don't understand what it means yet."
My head spins. This is too much. Too fast.
"I just want to be normal," I whisper.
"Normal died the moment you touched that Sorting Sphere." Voss stands. "Rest now. Tomorrow, you'll need to decide what kind of person you want to be. The invisible girl who hides? Or the queen who rises?"
She leaves.
I lie in the quiet medical wing, staring at the ceiling, trying to process everything.
My mother sacrificed herself for me. I have powers that could kill me. Four impossibly powerful men are connected to me somehow. And everyone wants me either dead or controlled.
My phone buzzes on the bedside table. I grab it.
A message from an unknown number:
Midnight. Forbidden Archive. Third floor, west wing. Come alone. I have answers about your mother's death. -C
My heart races. C. Caspian?
Another message appears:
Don't trust him. It's a trap. -D
Then a third:
They're both wrong. Meet me in the forest at midnight instead. -K
A fourth:
Ignore all of them. Come to my lab. I have data you need to see. -L
I stare at my phone as four different invitations from four different men flood my screen.
They're all asking me to choose them. To trust them over the others.
But I don't know any of them. Don't know who to believe.
A fifth message appears, from yet another unknown number:
Choose carefully, little Eclipse. Your first decision will determine whether you survive the week. Some of them want to protect you. Some want to use you. And one of them? One of them has orders to kill you. Sleep well. -The Syndicate
The phone slips from my numb fingers.
One of them is supposed to kill me.
One of the four men who just swore to protect me is actually my assassin.
And I have no idea which one.