Chapter 14: Elysium''s Open Secret

    Seraphina''s Pov

    When my eyes fluttered open, the first thing I saw was Yuna''s face hovering over mine.

    Relief flooded through me, and I let out a shaky breath, feeling like I had just woken up from a very terrible nightmare.

    I sat up quickly, the adrenaline from what I''d seen coursing through my veins and pushing me to speak before I''d even fully registered where I was.

    "Yuna!" I gasped. "There''s—there''s someone here who looks like a snake. I saw a girl who—she looked normal at first, but then she had snake skin, Yuna, and her eyes—they were like a snake''s eyes. I swear, I saw it, and I know for a fact that I wasn''t imagining it."

    My words came out of my mouth in a rush, and I could hear how frantic I sounded, but I didn''t care. Yuna needed to know what I''d just witnessed.

    As I spoke, I started to feel a sense of disorientation, so I looked around, taking in the unfamiliar space I was in.

    I was in a room and on a bed that wasn''t mine, and in my confusion, I turned back to Yuna, trying to understand how I ended up and where I was.@@@@

    "How did I get here?" I asked, my voice shaky. "Last I remember, I was in the hallway... I passed out, I think."

    I glanced at her, searching for answers. "Is this your room? Is this... is this room 241?"

    Yuna''s expression shifted, and I noticed something in her eyes that I hadn''t seen before. She seemed tense, almost as if she were debating something in her head. Her hands were clenched in her lap, and she wouldn''t even meet my gaze.

    "Yuna?" I asked again, my voice a little stronger this time. "How did you find me?"

    She sighed, finally raising her eyes to meet mine. "Seraphina," she began, "I need you to calm down, okay? I know you''re shocked right now, and I know you probably have a lot of questions, but I need you to calm down and just listen to me."

    I swallowed hard, my heart still pounding as I waited for her to continue. Her words did nothing to ease the frantic thoughts racing through my mind.

    I wanted to know what had happened, why she was acting so strange, and why I was feeling this weird tension between us that hadn''t been there before.

    "You''re right," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "This is room 241."

    I stared at Yuna, my mouth hanging open as I tried to process what she''d just said. This was room 241. This was really her room, and the girl I''d seen—the one with the snake eyes and scaly skin—she actually lived here, too?

    I could barely wrap my mind around it, let alone believe it. I opened my mouth to ask more questions, but Yuna continued before I could speak, nodding slowly.

    "And yes," she continued. "The girl you saw earlier is my twin sister, Yura."

    Her words took me by surprise, and I leaned back slightly, subconsciously trying to put some distance between us as I dealt with this new information.

    Yura—her twin sister—was the snake girl. The one who had given me the fright of my life.

    My heart pounded in my chest, and I could feel the blood draining from my face as I stared at Yuna.

    "You''re twins with... with a snake?" I blurted out, my voice barely more than a whisper.

    Yuna nodded, a small smile flickering across her face. "Ask as many as you want. I''ll answer honestly," she assured me.

    I took a deep breath, gathering my thoughts. There were so many things I wanted to understand, but one question rose to the top of my mind. "Which kingdom are you from?" I asked, narrowing my eyes slightly. "And... is everyone there also a snake?"

    Yuna''s eyebrows shot up, clearly taken aback by my question. "I''m from the kingdom of Varynthia," she replied, watching me closely.

    I immediately recognized the kingdom name since I''d read about the seven kingdoms. Varynthia had always stood out, a mysterious place where old gods and creatures were still kept alive, and one of their gods, I remembered, was a snake.

    "Varynthians worship a snake as their god," I said slowly, trying to piece it all together. "But does that mean everyone there is a... naga?"

    Yuna shook her head, a wry smile playing on her lips. "No, not everyone," she replied. "There are only a few of us who carry this... trait. Most people in Varynthia are humans, like anyone else, but for those of us who descend from the royal line—the family that traces back to the King Cobra they worship—things are different. We''re considered as... well, not quite gods, but something close."

    "The reason I''m here at Elysium," she explained, "is because of that identity. Only a select few from each kingdom are allowed to attend, and my lineage made me eligible. I may be a nobody here, but back in Varynthia, my family is regarded as a direct link to our god. It''s why I was able to come to this school as part of the elite."

    She let out a short, humorless laugh. "Funny how status can change depending on where you are."

    I''d always known that Elysium attracted the most powerful families and the most influential bloodlines from all seven kingdoms, but I hadn''t expected to find myself being friends with a descendant of a revered snake deity.

    "Are there others?" I asked.

    The idea that Yuna and Yura might not be the only ones who weren''t fully human made my skin crawl.

    I had come to Elysium expecting the usual academic challenges and the struggle to fit in—not to find myself in a world filled with people who were only half human.

    Yuna sighed. "Yes, there are others," she replied. "Even the principal of this school is rumored to only be half human." She paused, letting that sink in before she continued, "It seems to me, Seraphina, that you''ve lived a rather sheltered and clueless life."

    I nodded. "You''re not wrong. I mean, I knew that each of the kingdoms had gods they worshipped, but I didn''t think that meant there were actual... descendants," I said.

    Yuna gave me a faint smile. "Yes, every kingdom has its gods, and those gods have their own ways of leaving marks on this world. Mystical beings and creatures that embody the essence of those gods. Some, like my sister and me, are descendants of these beings, and believe me, there are many students here who aren''t fully human."

    "How many?" I asked, my voice trembling.

    "More than you''d think," she said quietly. "This school, it''s meant for the elites, and that includes those who carry the bloodlines of the old gods and their creatures, and they''re all here, learning and hiding in plain sight."

    My chest tightened, and I could feel panic building inside me.

    "But how can you tell?" I asked. "I mean, you and Yura—you''re different because of the scales, but how would I even know who''s human and who isn''t?"

    Yuna shook her head. "You wouldn''t, and that''s the point. Most of them can hide their other side pretty well. Snakes like Yura and me have it harder because of the shedding, but for others, keeping their second nature hidden is easy. You''d never know unless they wanted you to."

    The realization made my skin prickle. I''d been at this school for days, walking around and attending classes with people I thought were just like me, but now the thought that any one of them could be something else entirely, something more than human, scared me.

    "But... but are they dangerous?" I asked, swallowing hard.

    Yuna gave me a reassuring smile, though it seemed halfhearted. "Most aren''t dangerous unless provoked. They''re just here to learn, like you, but there are always exceptions. That''s why you need to be careful, Seraphina. The best thing you can do is keep to yourself, stay out of trouble, and try not to draw attention. As long as you bother no one, you''ll be safe from ever seeing their other side."