Raphael didn’t know what to make of it. – Kael had mentioned it mere seconds after they first met — something in his tone deeply moved, – as if he had just witnessed a revetion. The memory of that moment still lingered in Raphael’s mind, shadowed with mystery and the weight of unspoken meaning.

  – Moved enough to mention it immediately – Liam mused thoughtfully, his expression pensive. – That’s unusual for someone like Kael. He’s usually more cautious with his words.

  They were already crossing the main courtyard of Amaltea Academy, where students drifted between csses in small clusters. The gentle hum of conversation filled the space, blending with the rustling breeze that pyed with leaves and robes alike. Above them, the bell tower loomed like a silent sentinel, its bronze tongue quiet for now.

  – He said that he knows "my kind", but didn’t tell me much more – Raphael admitted, his brows drawn together as his gaze dropped to the path. – He kept repeating things like ‘prophecies’ and ‘you’re special’. And... Era agreed with him.

  Liam raised an eyebrow, his gaze drifting over the courtyard before he leaned in to whisper, lowering his voice to something nearly conspiratorial.

  – Era agreeing with Kael about prophecies involving you? That’s quite the combination – he murmured, an edge of intrigue in his voice. – Those two barely agree on what day it is.

  Raphael let out a soft sound, somewhere between a hum and a sigh. What could possibly make them speak in one voice? The thought lodged itself in his mind like a splinter.

  Just then, Liam’s eyes caught movement near the fountain at the center of the courtyard — a familiar silhouette, still and solemn.

  – There he is.

  Kael stood alone by the water’s edge, a solitary figure shrouded in silence. His brow was furrowed, his gaze fixed on some distant point, as if peering through the veil of the visible world into something far beyond. There was an intensity to him that made the air around him feel denser, more charged.

  Raphael exhaled softly, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

  – Thank you very much. I really appreciate your help... and everything else.

  Liam smiled in return, warm and gentle. He reached out and gave Raphael’s hand a brief but tender squeeze — a gesture filled with reassurance and something unspoken beneath it.

  – Anytime – he murmured, guiding him toward the seer. As they approached, Liam let go of his hand but remained close, his presence steady, like a quiet promise of protection.

  – Kael – Raphael called out gently.

  The seer turned slowly, his movement deliberate. His eyes, dark and unreadable, locked onto Raphael with unnerving intensity. He held the gaze for a heartbeat too long before flicking his attention briefly to Liam, then returning it fully to Raphael.

  – Nephilim – he acknowledged with a slight nod. Then, quieter, – You came.

  – Yes. As promised – Raphael replied with a sheepish smile. – But I definitely need to grab a map of this school. Otherwise, I’ll have to ask people to lead me everywhere.

  Kael’s lips twitched into a faint smirk, amused by the honesty.

  – A wise decision – he said, his voice low, textured with subtle amusement. – This school can be quite the byrinth, especially for those unfamiliar with its winding corridors and hidden alcoves.

  – Exactly my thought.

  – I can guide you to the office where you can pick up a map – Liam offered helpfully, his tone friendly but casual. – It’s not far from here. And maybe on the way, Kael can fill us in on those prophecies he’s been mumbling about.

  – Thank you, Liam. That’s really kind of you – Raphael said, then paused, catching his gaze with deliberate softness. – But I think I need to talk with Kael alone. I’ll see you at breakfast. Or maybe during your “special mission”… but don’t feel obligated.

  Liam’s expression softened in response. There was a flicker of something unspoken — hesitation, perhaps — but he didn’t protest. Instead, he cast one st, slightly wary gnce at Kael before offering a gentle nod.

  – Of course. I’ll see you at breakfast then.

  With that, he turned and walked away, his presence slowly retreating until it faded into the rhythm of the courtyard.

  Now it was just the two of them.

  Kael’s expression shifted — no longer guarded, but thoughtful, almost wary.

  – Secret mission? – he asked, a note of suspicion in his voice.

  – Don’t ask.

  Kael’s eyes narrowed, reading between the lines, then rexed with a subtle shrug.

  – So... you wanted to talk to me. Alone?

  – Yes. I just want to digest all the information you’ll give me, before I talk about it with someone else.

  Kael inclined his head slowly, something like respect flickering in his expression.

  – Very well. Follow me.

  He turned, his bck cloak whispering softly against the stone path as he led Raphael away from the courtyard and into the quieter parts of the academy. The corridors wound like veins through the ancient structure, steeped in centuries of secrets, dust, and enchantments no longer spoken aloud.

  Eventually, Kael brought him to a secluded courtyard nestled in the shadow of old, towering trees. The air here felt different — hushed, intimate, like the world was holding its breath. The scent of blooming flowers mixed with the faint metallic tang of ancient magic. Pale moonlight filtered through the leafy canopy above, casting silvery reflections across the moss-covered stone.

  Kael turned to face him, expression unreadable, but his presence carried weight — the kind that made silence louder than words. His eyes, catching the moonlight, shimmered like shards of obsidian.

  – Vampires – he began, his voice low, thoughtful –

  – We are immortal, feeding on human blood to sustain our existence – Kael began, his voice like velvet wrapped in shadows. – Our senses are heightened, our strength and speed unmatched. We possess the ability to control minds and induce fear, and our eyes glow red when we are hungry or emotional. We are territorial and often live in rge families or covens.

  His words carried the weight of countless generations. Each sylble rang with ancient certainty, untouched by time. In the soft light of the courtyard, Kael seemed not like a boy, or even a young man — but something older, sculpted by centuries, held together by restraint and blood.

  Raphael tilted his head slightly, curiosity piqued.

  – Can you feed only on humans, or other species as well?

  Kael’s eyes didn’t waver. There was no hesitation in his response — only truth, stripped of artifice.

  – Vampires can feed on any warm-blooded creature – he expined. – However, human blood is our preferred source, as it provides the most nourishment and sustenance. Other supernatural creatures' blood can sustain us, but it’s not as satisfying or beneficial.

  The words settled between them like falling ash — not grotesque or dramatic, simply a fact of survival. Raphael could feel the ancient instinct behind them, primal and absolute.

  – Liam said that your blood is shining red in the moonlight.

  A flicker of amusement danced in Kael’s eyes at the mention of the nephilim. His lips curved into a faint, knowing smirk — as if recalling a particur memory, or a private joke Liam would have made at his expense.

  – That’s true – he admitted. – Vampire blood has unique properties under moonlight. It appears to glow or shimmer with a deep red hue, almost like liquid rubies flowing through our veins.

  Raphael imagined it for a moment — red light flickering beneath pale skin, dancing like fire under moonlight. It was beautiful, and terrifying in equal measure.

  Like rubies, he thought. Shimmering in the dark, like blood that remembers.

  – Ok. So vampires’ blood shines red, nephilims’ – silver...

  – Yes – Kael confirmed, his voice settling back into something clinical, deliberate. – Nephilim blood shines silver under the moonlight, reflecting their divine heritage. Werewolf blood turns a golden hue, while shifters’ blood glows a soft green. Each supernatural species has its own unique moonlit signature.

  There was a pause. The kind of stillness that wasn't empty, but full of quiet revetion.

  Raphael looked down at his hands. The memory returned like a ghost — the first time he saw it. That impossible blue glow. That chill along his spine. That silence that followed.

  – Yeah... and mine... is blue... and nobody knows what that means.

  Kael’s expression shifted instantly. The teasing glimmer vanished, repced by something deeper — sharper. Concern? Fascination?

  He took a step closer, his gaze locked on Raphael’s face as if searching for a crack in the mask, a glimpse of the truth beneath his skin.

  – Blue – he repeated, softer now. His brow furrowed, the shadow of a thought darkening his eyes. – I must admit, I’ve never heard of a supernatural being with blue blood under the moonlight. It’s... unusual.

  He didn’t say dangerous. He didn’t say beautiful. Just unusual. And somehow, that made it feel more real.

  They walked in silence for a few moments, the path beneath them bathed in silver light. The air between them was charged — not with tension, but with something that felt older than both of them. Expectation. Destiny. An answer waiting to be spoken, but not yet ready to arrive.

  – Ok – Raphael said finally, almost in a whisper. – So what can we tell about the prophecy?

  Kael’s face changed once more. The distant gleam in his eyes grew darker, deeper. It wasn’t just knowledge — it was memory. Weight. A shadow he had carried too long.

  – The prophecy... – he said slowly, his voice nearly a whisper. – It speaks of a being bearing moonlight-blue blood, a sign of unknowable power and destiny. ‘When the blue moon bleeds, the bearer shall rise, changing the fate of all supernatural kind.’

  The words fell like a stone into deep water, rippling across Raphael’s skin. He felt them more than heard them, as though they had been waiting for him — etched in the world itself, long before he took his first breath.

  A chill slid down his spine.

  – It’s so misty... – he murmured.

  Kael nodded solemnly, his jaw clenched as he looked away toward the trees.

  – Indeed, it is shrouded in mystery – he said. There was a note of frustration in his voice now, low and tense. – The wording is vague, open to interpretation. Some believe it foretells a great savior, while others fear it portends devastating destruction.

  Raphael hesitated. His next question felt heavier than it should.

  – And what do you think of it?

  Kael hesitated, his eyes fixed on Raphael’s as though he were weighing invisible scales behind them. For a moment, silence stretched between them like a thread drawn tight — fragile, waiting to snap.

  – Personally – he began slowly, each word carefully measured – I find it hard to believe that a single individual could hold such immense power and influence over the supernatural world. But...

  He paused. The tension in his body shifted, no longer skepticism, but gravity. His gaze sharpened, intensity rising behind his stillness.

  – But your blue blood...

  The way he said it — with quiet gravity — made Raphael’s chest tighten. It wasn’t just disbelief anymore. It was the beginning of acknowledgment. Recognition. As though Kael had been trying to deny something he could no longer ignore.

  – Yeah – Raphael murmured. – And Era said something about the stars on the day I was born...

  Kael’s eyes widened slightly at the mention. The name alone carried weight, but paired with stars — it shifted something. A ripple passed through his composure, a subtle change, but unmistakable.

  – Era is wise – he said, voice tinged with reverence. – If she noticed something unusual about the stars on your birth night, it could be significant. In ancient times, celestial events were often seen as omens or signs of destiny.

  Destiny. The word struck something deep in Raphael’s chest, like a bell struck under water. He didn’t know if he believed in fate. But the way Kael said it made it feel less like a fantasy and more like a whisper of inevitability.

  – I feel a little lost – he admitted, his voice barely above a whisper, emotion pushing past his composure.

  Kael’s expression softened instantly. The stoic calm of the vampire gave way to something gentler, more human — a flicker of true concern, unguarded and real.

  – I know it’s overwhelming – he said softly, his voice carrying a gentle undertone of that vampiric allure usually reserved for seduction. But now, it was something else entirely. Comfort. Safety. A kind of presence that reached into the silence and steadied it. – Having this prophecy hanging over your head, not knowing what it truly means...

  – Yes... and not only that...

  Kael tilted his head slightly, attuned to the shift in Raphael’s tone — the tremble, the weight beneath the words.

  – Go on – he prompted gently. His posture rexed ever so slightly — a rare thing from someone so composed. – Besides the prophecy, what else weighs on your mind? Remember, even those born under mysterious stars struggle with everyday concerns.

  There was something disarming about how he said it. Like he wasn’t just asking from curiosity, but offering a space to speak freely — without judgment, without walls.

  Raphael hesitated only a second, then took a breath.

  – I know it might sound strange, but... could you hold my hands for a moment?

  Kael’s eyes widened at the request, a flicker of surprise fshing across his face. He wasn’t used to such openness — not from others, and certainly not from himself. But there was no mockery in his expression, no discomfort.

  Instead, he stepped forward without hesitation, closing the small distance between them.

  His cool, pale hands enveloped Raphael’s, light but firm. A steadying presence. The temperature contrast was striking — cold against warmth — but instead of pushing Raphael away, it grounded him.

  – Of course – Kael said quietly, his thumbs brushing soothing circles across the backs of Raphael’s hands.

  Raphael let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. The sensation of Kael’s touch — restrained, intentional, and quiet — sent a ripple through him. Not desire. Not exactly. Just... a stillness. Something his chaotic thoughts could anchor to.

  He closed his eyes and squeezed gently, grounding himself in the feeling — the silence between them, the chill of Kael’s skin, the strange but intimate connection between their palms.

  Then, as if the world exhaled, everything shifted.

  In an instant, the corridor vanished — repced by the quiet, familiar space of Raphael’s room. The air changed. The temperature. The gravity. The reality itself.

  Kael blinked rapidly, his entire frame going taut with instinct. His grip tightened as if to anchor himself in this new reality. For a split second, vampire reflexes fred across his face — the ghost of a defensive reaction — but they faded, repced by fascinated bewilderment.

  – What just happened?

  – That’s the question – Raphael replied, his tone wry, but low. Even though this wasn’t his first time, it never stopped being strange. The tug in his chest, the blink of absence between one pce and another.

  Kael gnced around the room, every motion precise and alert, as if testing whether the furniture was real — or about to dissolve into illusion. Then he looked back at Raphael, and his expression changed again.

  – You... teleported us – he said slowly. – Without any incantation, without a ritual... just by holding my hands and focusing.

  He stared into Raphael’s eyes, trying to find something there — not answers, but maybe a mirror of the unknown now reflected back at him.

  – Exactly. I discovered it accidentally not long ago.

  Kael’s thoughts moved fast; Raphael could almost feel it, the flicker of calcution behind his gaze. His posture shifted into something sharper — more focused.

  – This means you have some form of innate teleportation ability – he murmured, almost to himself. – Not tied to any known magical system or bloodline... it’s unique.

  A silence bloomed between them, thick with possibility. It wasn’t the kind of silence that asked to be filled. It was the kind that hinted something had just begun.

  – Want to see more? – Raphael asked, the offer quiet, but ced with something deeper — an unspoken trust, a need to be seen and not feared.

  Kael nodded at once, the movement small but eager. His eyes were alight now, their darkness glittering like onyx struck by stars.

  – Show me – he encouraged, hands still csped with Raphael’s. – If you can teleport without preparation, what other limits does this ability have? Can you teleport objects? People besides yourself? Over long distances?

  Raphael exhaled, his breath unsteady. A nervous ugh escaped him before he could catch it.

  – Wow. I’m still processing this fact. Haven’t even thought of anything you mentioned.

  – That’s what makes it so fascinating – Kael murmured, his voice low and distant, as if speaking more to himself than to Raphael. His mind was already racing ahead, weaving hypotheses and theoretical pathways, images forming faster than words could follow. – You’re not bound by the rules and limitations that we’re used to studying in magic and supernatural abilities. You’re creating a new category entirely.

  There was awe in his tone — not just intellectual curiosity, but something more primal. The sensation of watching something truly new unfold in front of him. A miracle cloaked in mystery.

  – Ok. Now watch – Raphael said softly.

  He closed his eyes, steadying his breath.

  Inward, not outward. That was the secret. He didn’t reach for energy — he remembered. The image of himself with wings, the echo of that moment when he had felt them stretch from within him like a second soul. It wasn’t a spell. It was a memory reawakened.

  A pulse stirred in his back. Heat first, spreading outward, then a sensation like muscles shifting, bones realigning — but there was no pain this time. Only tension. Release.

  Kael watched, spellbound.

  Raphael’s back arched slightly, his breath catching as fabric of his shirt tightening strained against something growing beneath it before it gave way. Then, with a fluid, organic motion, a pair of wings burst forth from his shoulder bdes — not violently, but with the grace of a sunrise.

  They unfurled fully, stretching wide in a sweep of motion that stirred the air. Feathers shimmered with iridescence, catching the light like silk soaked in gold and silver. Every movement sent waves of glimmer rippling through them — not quite divine, not quite earthly.

  Kael’s breath stilled.

  His eyes widened, not just in disbelief, but in wonder so raw it felt like reverence. He didn’t speak. Couldn’t. For a heartbeat, he simply stared — not at a boy, but at something otherworldly. Something that shouldn’t be. And yet... was.

  – Oh shit! My shirt – Raphael blurted, voice breaking the hush. – I think I haven’t thought it through.

  Kael blinked — and then ughed. Not a forced ugh, not the careful amusement he sometimes used to control a room — this one was real. Low, surprised, and disarming.

  – I think your shirt may have met its match – he teased gently, his voice rich with amusement. – But the wings... they’re breathtaking.

  He took a step closer, gaze never leaving the wings.

  His hand rose slowly, as if asking permission with silence alone, and then his fingers touched the feathers.

  A shiver passed through Raphael, unbidden and immediate. Not from cold — from sensation. Like static, or a ripple of pleasure that started in his spine and spread outward in a wave.

  Kael’s expression softened.

  His touch was reverent — not just curious, but delicate. His fingers traced the feathers as though they were sacred, his movements unhurried, precise. Not a collector studying an object. A witness, encountering the divine.

  – They’re so soft – he murmured.

  Raphael blushed. The warmth hit him in a flush that spread from his cheeks to the tips of his ears. He looked down, avoiding Kael’s gaze.

  – And warm – Kael added, his voice barely above a whisper now, fingertips lingering. – Unlike anything I’ve ever seen or touched before. It’s like they’re alive, pulsing with some inner energy.

  He finally looked up, and their eyes met.

  Kael’s face was open — more open than Raphael had ever seen it. Curiosity, yes. But also something deeper. Something that looked very much like wonder.

  – Can you control them?

  – I know I can make them appear and disappear – Raphael replied, his voice low, almost bashful. – Again, haven’t had time to experiment with them. They showed accidentally when... – He hesitated, flushing again. – Nevermind.

  Kael’s brow lifted ever so slightly.

  He tilted his head, a smile pying faintly at his lips — not mocking, just intrigued. The way someone might respond to a riddle they suddenly realized had a delicious answer.

  – When what? – he prompted gently. His voice softened again, encouraging, warm. He leaned forward just slightly, as though trying to catch a whisper before it slipped away. – Perhaps they appear in moments of strong emotion?

  Raphael shifted his weight, uncertain whether to ugh or flee the conversation.

  – Yeaaa... we can call it that – he muttered, cheeks bzing now.

  Kael’s eyes narrowed, not in suspicion — in realization.

  – Strong emotion, like anger, or fear? – he suggested, though his tone was pyful, specutive. – Or could it be something else? Like happiness, or... excitement?

  He paused, eyes studying every detail of Raphael’s face — the downcast gaze, the heat in his cheeks, the slight shift in his stance.

  Then his voice dropped even lower, velvet and curiosity entwined:

  – Or perhaps... something more...