Smoke coiled above the palace's eastern wing. Shards of glass fell like icy rain. Students screamed and scrambled across the moonlit gardens.
But Samantha was already gone.
Jayden stood still in the archway, blood on his shirt—not his own. His breath came short. His ears rang. The echo of her last word—"Run"—still thundered inside him.
From the shadows, Ochieng emerged.
Ochieng: "She did it, didn't she?"
Jayden looked at him. "She saved me."
Ochieng: "No, Jayden. She spared you. That's not the same.
It was once a place of beauty—where roses glowed under synthetic sunlight and mechanical butterflies fluttered through enchanted vines. A gift from the trillionaire Yvonne Dakari, whose daughters now studied at Caer Nyx.
Now, it was death's corridor.
The body lay motionless in the center. Head turned sideways. Red soaked into the silken grass.
Name: Prince Caleb von Archsen
Age: 23
Profession: Cyber-Defence Strategist
Flaws: Arrogance, impulsiveness, an obsession with perfection
Background: The golden heir of Austria's dark elite, beloved and hated in equal measure.
He was dead. A dagger in the neck. The blade engraved with one name—"Salem."
---
That same night, under a silver rain, a limousine of obsidian design halted at the Caer Nyx gates.
Out stepped Celestine and Celine Navarro—half-Filipina, half-Lebanese, 21-year-old twin heiresses of the Navarro Arms Empire. One dressed in velvet blue, the other in blood red. Identical, yet opposites in soul.
Celestine was known for her sweet public persona, ambassador of peace.
Celine… for wild rumors, including poisoning a countess at 16.
They walked through the garden, heels echoing against glass.
Celestine (softly): "The games have begun."
Celine (smirking): "And finally, someone's dead."
--
At the central court, heirs and heiresses gathered in silence.
A new figure arrived—Dean Luther Novarro, 54, the strict and mysterious head of Global Affairs at Caer Nyx. He wasn't meant to appear until the final round.
Dean Luther: "Let it be known—Caer Nyx is no longer a school. It is a survival ring. Someone will win… and someone will bury all of you."
Gasps.
He continued:
"Your inheritance is meaningless if you're dead."
Then he turned toward Jayden, eyes cold.
Dean Luther: "Your father warned me about you. Said you would break the rules."
Jayden clenched his jaw.
Jayden: "Maybe the rules deserved to be broken."
---
Meanwhile, in a quiet bar off-campus, four dark horses met under code names:
The Masked Duke
Lilith Voss (age 25, former beauty queen turned fixer)
Felix Ryker (age 27, expelled heir from the Ryker family; charming, dangerous, flirtatious)
Seraphina Gray (age 24, daughter of a disgraced queen, known for seductive manipulations)
Their goal?
To bring down the royal bloodline… starting with the heirs still inside the academy.
Felix: "Let them fall in love. Let them get drunk. Let them throw parties and make promises. When it all crumbles… we'll take everything."
---
Back in his chambers, Ochieng stood before an encrypted wall of names. Faces flashed—Jayden's, Samantha's, Aurora's, even his own.
He looked at a glowing red name:
"Samantha Dravena Ochieng."
Ochieng (muttering): "Why now? What are you planning?"
Suddenly, his door creaked open. It was Gloria, the woman once known as "The Diamond of Dubai," now dressed in mourning black.
Gloria: "It's begun, hasn't it?"
Ochieng: "Yes. The fall of the empire begins with the first blade."
Gloria: "Then let's make sure we survive it."