Serene’s POV

Zeph carried me to the Enchantment Hall, it was an eerie feeling outside the Infirmary. The morning had delivered us chaos and heartbreaks. We could hear shrieks in the distance, a battle was surely ensuing and I felt shame creep over me, knowing what I had done.

I put my arms around Zeph and buried my face in his sculpted chest. "Hang in there," he whispered.

We reached the Enchantment Hall and before Zeph could knock, Arlo yanked the door open.

His eyes met mine as his face held a grim reaction. Zeph took me inside and seated me on the sofa. Ralph rushed over to me while Arlo stood at a distance, closely watching me.

"Serene, I am so glad to see you." Ralph hugged me, looking pained.

"Same Ralph, I thought you people must have left by now." I glanced around, noticing everyone. The hall was mostly empty and I figured a lot of them had left.

"I wouldn’t leave without meeting you, how are you holding up?" He inquired.

"Surviving, I guess." Tears brimmed out from my eyes and my head hurt. Thinking this might be the last time I would be seeing them.

"You are braver than this and I know all of us will pull through." He wiped my tears and asked: "How is Ayrden?" I lowered my head at his question.

"She is still unconscious, Artins Sensei says they will heal her," Zeph replied seeing I was choking on emotions.

"Guilt will singe your soul and destroy your mental and physical health. Stop feeling guilty for everyone, you can’t control everything." Arlo finally spoke up, his eyes boring into me, the intensity of them making me uncomfortable. The hurt they carried as they darted on my injured body was immense.

I lowered my gaze and shook my head before saying: "It’s my fault though, I have endangered you all."

"No, you didn’t." He growled back at me, I could see him getting angry. I sighed and didn’t answer back, I knew he was getting hurt by my words. Instead, I said:

"I want you all to come live with me. Bring your families, I can’t promise to keep everyone safe but we would be together and we can face all the dangers side by side. Please." I pleaded, glancing at their faces.

They seemed taken aback by my request. Zeph spoke first: "We don’t want to be imposing besides our houses are far away from Dark Realm so we will be safe. Don’t worry about us."

"Zeph, please." I pleaded while turning my attention to him.

"Let me go home and access the situation first and we will come if there is trouble." He reassured me. Then I turned to Arlo.

"Serene, it will not be a good idea. Vampires and Fae don’t belong together. Besides, Queen Vilarja will never allow us to leave. Don’t worry, we can handle a bunch of monsters." Arlo gave me a knowing look.

I glanced around the hall but Mikasim and Tanzil were already gone. Shumal Sensei entered through the door and approached us.

"Zeph and Ralph it’s your turn. Lavaria and Sarim will go with all novices of Folkel Realm. Say your goodbyes." I clenched Zeph’s shirt at her words. I didn’t want him to leave. He was holding onto me and then he kissed my forehead and said:

"I will come for you. This is not goodbye." I hugged him tightly not wanting to let go. My heart sank with every breath. He returned my hug and I finally removed my hands with a heavy heart so he could leave.

"Stay with her, Kilamin is coming to fetch her soon," Zeph instructed Arlo as he got up. Arlo nodded in return. Zeph gave me one final look, his eyes were laden with unsaid words and I was barely holding onto the sobs which were on the precipice of escaping. My heart shattered, seeing him go, seeing all my friends go.

The door closed shut behind them and I hid my face in my hands, unable to contain my emotions. I felt Arlo’s hand on my shoulder and he gently squeezed it, letting me know he was there for me.

"Time will change, this will pass, and prosper time will come. Don’t be so hard on yourself. Focus on the healing process. I want to ask what happened out there but I can imagine it is painful for you to even think about." He spoke softly sitting down beside me.

"She fed on me Arlo, the woman from my nightmares. She is a vampire with mind-controlling abilities. It hurt and I thought I was going to die out there. I was alone, broken and weak." I confessed to him and felt his grip tighten on my shoulder.

"I can’t even tell you how sorry I am that she hurt you and for not being able to protect you. I took a round last night and thought you had gone to sleep. If I had known you were going down to the grounds, I would have stayed there." All of us were carrying guilt inside of us for what had happened but no one was pointing fingers at others. This was the beauty of our Institute and Senseis, they had inculcated unity among us.

"Are you still in pain?" He asked me with gritted teeth. His hands brushed my bandaged neck where her marks lay.

"No, Mariela Sensei must have applied something to it. No pain, except in my legs, and I feel lightheaded besides my energy seems depleted."

"What happened to your legs?" His apprehension was evident on his face. His hand moved to my face as he grazed my cheek with his thumb, making me shudder. I stared back at him, no words came out of my mouth.

"Did she hurt you?" His voice was soft and barely a whisper.

"It was a monster," I told him. I hadn’t told the details of what happened inside the Dark Realm to anyone yet including Kilamin and Zeph and yet I wanted to tell Arlo. I wanted to confide in someone, who could handle it. I knew Zeph would be too turmoiled, he acted strong but he had a very soft heart. Arlo was tough and he could always handle such situations.

"What else? Tell me everything if you feel like sharing." His hand was still on my face as I told him in detail about what had transpired in the Dark Realm and everything that happened to me. He listened quietly, his eyes holding emotions I had stirred within him.

"You are so courageous, Serene. No one would have survived the horrors you did and moving forward this world would need your strength and resilience. If there is anyone who can defeat her it’s you. I am sure you will get rid of her someday." I listened to his comforting words and a burden seemed to lift from my heart, now that I had spoken about the horrors I had faced alone, they seemed less horrid.

"Thank you for listening to me."

"I will always listen to you, whatever you want to share." He offered me a small smile and I forced myself to smile back at him.

The door opened and Kilamin walked inside I turned to look at him. Arlo dropped his hand from my face.

"Serene, we have to leave." There was another guy with him and looking at his attire I was sure he was a Slayer.

"Ok," I turned to Arlo and gave him a small hug and he hugged me back. "Take care of yourself and come to Fae Realm if you or your family faces any problems. You will always be welcomed there." I whispered to him before letting go.

"I know," he smiled at me before Kilamin picked me up and took me away. Exiting the Enchantment Hall and entering the grounds we heard screeches and roars of unknown creatures and shouting in the distance.

Kilamin didn’t fly instead the boy took out a wand and covered us with some kind of blue shield. So he was a warlock and shield bearer like me.

"I have already portaled your belongings. Famios will accompany us and will make sure we reach home safely." Kilamin informed me and I nodded.

Then I heard a growl coming from my right as I raised my head to see where the sound was coming from, I saw Suri making its way toward me. It’s tail wagging and its mouth open.

"Suri," I called out to it and it began to run beside us, growling toward the sky. "I am taking him with me."

"Ok," Kilamin replied as he hurried toward the portal. The Institute had its own magic barrier and it started where the portal lay. As we neared the portal, a deafening holler welcomed us. We instantly glanced up and just outside a barrier stood an enormous creature that seemed to be made up of black and brown whirls of smoke. Its beady yellow eyes were focused on us, its body didn’t have a definitive shape and seemed to be changing every second. It was at least 25 feet tall.