The blindfold is ripped from my face with a swift, almost careless motion. My eyes sting and take a moment to adjust to the dim light. When the blurry shapes around me sharpen, my breath catches in my throat.
“Surprised?” a cold, mocking voice slices through the suffocating silence.
Standing before me, flanked by armed bandits, is Sandra. Her piercing eyes, once warm and kind, now carry a harsh authority that makes my stomach churn.
She steps forward, her expression smug, arms crossed as though she has been waiting for this moment her entire life. My lips part, but no words come out. Of all the people I expected to see, Sandra—the first person I trusted at the academy, the one who helped me survive my first chaotic days—was the last.
But this is not the Sandra I remember. The light in her eyes, the warmth that once made me feel safe, has turned to steel. A wave of dread pools in my stomach.
“Why?” I finally manage to whisper, my voice cracking under the weight of my confusion.
Sandra lets out a sharp, humorless laugh, her tone grating against my nerves. “You don’t know anything, do you?” she sneers.
“What are you talking about?” I demand, trying to steady myself despite the fear bubbling up inside me.
She tilts her head slightly, her expression somewhere between pity and mockery. “You really think Drakonscreach was just another elite institution, don’t you?” she asks, the condescension in her voice cutting deep. “A place to nurture the brightest minds? To help you grow into something great?”
“That’s what they told us,” I reply, though my voice falters. “That’s what you told me.”
Her lips curve into a sinister smile, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. “And you believed it. Just like everyone else. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised—you were always so eager to believe in the system.” She takes another step closer, her presence suffocating. “But let me enlighten you, dear Anne. This academy? It was never about your education or growth. It’s about control. Always has been.”
The weight of her words hits me like a blow. “Control?” I repeat, shaking my head. “What are you saying?”
Sandra’s smile widens. “My father, Anne. My father founded this institution. He had a vision—a grand plan to create a force of brilliant, ruthless minds that would reshape the world. But his vision was corrupted. Do you know why?” Her voice hardens, each word laced with venom. “Because of LG.”
“LG?” I blink, confused.
Sandra’s laugh echoes in the room, sharp and biting. “Oh, you’re going to love this,” she says with mock excitement. “LG, the so-called ‘genius’ behind the rankings, the abilities, the entire point system? He wasn’t even my father’s idea. He’s nothing but a parasite, a snake who wormed his way into Drakonscreach and seized control. Everything you’ve struggled to survive? It’s all his twisted little game.”
I take a shaky step back, trying to process her words. “But why would your father let that happen?”
Sandra’s face darkens, her tone bitter. “He didn’t let it happen. My father tried to stop him. But LG is clever, ruthless. He turned the system against my father, twisted everything he built into something unrecognizable. And in the end, my father wasn’t strong enough to take him down. So he disappeared.”
She pauses, her voice dropping lower, thick with anger. “And when he left, he abandoned me in this nightmare—this institution crawling with chaos. But the worst part?” Her eyes narrow, her voice trembling. “The worst part was finding out why he left. He had a family. A real family.”
Her gaze pierces me, and my breath catches. “That family,” she says slowly, her tone venomous, “was Xaeleine. The perfect daughter. The golden child who got to live a safe, happy life while I was left here to rot.”
“No,” I whisper, shaking my head.
Sandra’s rage flares. “You think I hated Xaeleine for no reason?” she snaps, her voice rising. “She was my father’s favorite. His closest ally. But when LG took over, she didn’t fight back. She ran. She abandoned me, abandoned everyone, to save her own skin. She went off to live happily ever after with Aurcel.”
“Xaeleine?” I repeat weakly, the name hitting me like a revelation.
Sandra sneers. “Yes, Xaeleine. The prodigy. The legend of Drakonscreach. The one everyone idolized. She was my sister. Our sister.”
I stare at her, stunned into silence, my heart pounding in my chest.
“That’s right,” Sandra continues, her voice cutting like a knife. “The three of us—Xaeleine, me, and you. All daughters of the same man. Xaeleine, the eldest, the shining star. Then me, the one he left behind to deal with his mess. And finally, you, Anne. The youngest. The one he actually chose to save.”
My legs feel weak, my mind spinning. “What are you talking about?”
Sandra steps closer, her eyes blazing. “Our father,” she says, her voice icy. “He gave his life to save you, Anne. That’s why he died. He left me behind to protect his precious illegitimate daughter.” She leans in, her breath hot against my face. “Now, tell me, Anne—who’s going to save you if I kill you right here and now?”
I freeze, her words slicing through me like ice. My breath catches in my throat, the weight of her rage suffocating.
But then something inside me shifts. A part of me that has endured the horrors of this institution steels itself. I meet Sandra’s gaze, refusing to flinch.
“Sandra,” I begin, my voice trembling but growing steadier. “You’re right. I didn’t know. About Xaeleine. About our father. About any of this. But do you really think killing me will fix it? Do you think it will make the pain go away?”
Sandra’s expression flickers with doubt for a moment, but her anger remains.
I press on. “Our father made his choice. Xaeleine made hers. But what about us? We don’t have to let them decide who we are. We don’t have to let LG or this institution control us. We can fight back. Together.”
Her lips tighten, and I see a storm of emotions flicker in her eyes—anger, pain, and something else. Something softer.
“You think it’s that simple?” Sandra says, her voice quieter now. “This place… it doesn’t let you fight back. It breaks you. It spits you out, just like it did to me. Just like it did to Xaeleine.”
She turns away, her shoulders stiff.
I take a step forward, my voice firm. “It won’t break me. And it doesn’t have to break you, either. We can end this, Sandra. Together. Isn’t that what our father would’ve wanted? For us to fight for each other?”
Sandra doesn’t respond immediately. Her back remains to me, her breathing heavy. The silence stretches, but I don’t back down.
Finally, she speaks, her voice barely audible. “You think you can fix this? You think you can fix me?”
I step closer, placing a hand on her shoulder. “I think we can fix it. Together.”
“You’re talking nonsense,” she utters, her voice laced with bitterness. She turns away, dismissing me entirely, leaving me alone in a dimly lit room. My mind spins, trying to process what had just happened. How am I supposed to fix this? And more importantly, how am I supposed to get out of here?
Hours pass. The room remains cold and dark, the oppressive silence weighing heavy on my shoulders. Then, finally, the door creaks open. I stiffen, the dim light from the hallway flooding in as a figure steps through. A bandit, his face concealed under a tattered mask, enters to deliver my meal.
He scans the room, confusion crossing his features. I’m no longer where he left me.
Before he has time to react, I spring from the shadows. I had managed to free my hands from the rope hours ago. The element of surprise is on my side as I crash into him. He stumbles back, wide-eyed, dropping to the ground with a grunt. His weapon clatters out of his reach.
I don’t waste any time. I grab his keys and swiftly slip out the door, moving as quietly as possible. The cold stone walls of the dungeon seem to stretch endlessly, but I can’t afford to panic. I’ve memorized the layout in my mind, calculated my steps. My friends are somewhere in this hellhole, and I won’t leave without them.
Checking each chamber carefully, I stay low and move silently, wary of running into more guards. My heart races as I slip from one corridor to the next, the shadows becoming my cover. In one of the dark chambers, I find what I’ve been searching for.
My teammates—scattered, imprisoned in different cells, their eyes wide with disbelief when they see me. “Anne!” one of them whispers urgently. I hold a finger to my lips and begin unlocking the cell doors one by one. The relief in their faces is palpable.
“We’re getting out of here,” I whisper.
---
Kenzo stood at the center of our makeshift war room, a dimly lit space carved out in one of the abandoned underground chambers. His brow furrowed in concentration as he traced a map across the dirt-streaked table. The faint glow of lanterns flickered around us, casting eerie shadows as he outlined the plan.
“We can’t afford any mistakes,” Kenzo began, his voice low but firm. “The bandits are too many, and their numbers seem to grow by the day. We have to strike fast and be smart about it.”
Mira, seated beside him, nodded in agreement. She was always the strategist, quick to assess the risks and rewards. “We hit them where they least expect it—cut off their supplies, sabotage their weapons, and take out their leaders. But to do that, we need information. We need people who know the area, who know the bandits.”
Lyra, ever the voice of caution, leaned forward. “There are still people hiding in the old facilities. We’ve seen them lurking in the shadows, too scared to come out. They know the lay of the land, and some of them have to be capable fighters. Maybe we can convince them to join us.”
Kenzo, Mira, Kian, Dana, and Yuki exchanged uneasy glances. The idea of relying on frightened strangers wasn’t exactly appealing. These people had remained hidden for a reason, and trusting them with something so dangerous felt risky. Kenzo was the first to voice the hesitation they all shared.
“If they’re too scared to come out, what makes you think they’ll fight? We can’t afford liabilities.”
Lyra pressed on. “We don’t know that for sure. Maybe they’re not as weak as they seem. They’ve survived this long, haven’t they? And we need the numbers. We can’t take on the bandits with just us.”
A heavy silence fell over the room as the group pondered the suggestion. Eventually, Kenzo let out a sigh, breaking the stillness. “Alright. We’ll see what they have to offer. But if they’re not ready, we can’t waste time with them.”
With that decision made, the next step was clear. We needed to prepare ourselves for the battles ahead, and there was one person who could help us in ways no one else could—Cally.