HIGH SCHOOL DIARIES (A Tale Of Love And Deception)

Emily stepped into the looming Lockwood estate, her heart pounding. Every instinct told her to run, to flee from the icy grip of Peter Lockwood's presence. The grand halls, draped in shadows, felt suffocating. She was here, not as a guest, but as a pawn in a deadly game.

"Welcome, Miss Bennet," Peter Lockwood's voice dripped with insincere politeness. His eyes glittered coldly as he gestured toward a seat. Emily, her stomach churning, took a step forward.

"Why am I here?" she demanded, refusing to let her voice tremble.

Peter leaned back in his chair, watching her with an unnerving calmness. "You know exactly why you're here. You're leverage. Hadrain may have escaped, but he still cares about you, doesn't he? And we intend to use that to bring him back."

Abigail stood beside her father, her expression void of emotion. "It's nothing personal, Emily. Just strategy."

Emily's jaw clenched. "You won't use me like this. I refuse!"

"You refuse?" Abigail scoffed, stepping forward. "You don't have a choice." Her voice was cold, devoid of any empathy. "Hadrain abandoned you. He's with Jayden now in God's knows where ."

The words stung like a thousand blades, but Emily wasn't going to let them see her pain. Her thoughts whirled, racing for an escape. Abigail had no idea how wrong she was about Hadrain—And she was about to find out in the hardest way. No one knows how powerful Hadrain was, the extent of his powers and he was not to be underestimated. But the Lockwoods had no intention of letting her walk away freely.

Suddenly, before she could process it, guards swarmed in from the corners of the room. Huge, menacing figures, their faces masked in shadow, advanced toward her. Emily's heart raced in fear, but she wouldn't give in so easily.

Instinct kicked in. Her eyes darted to the nearest weapon—an antique vaste table. In one swift motion, she grabbed it, swinging it toward the first guard who came near. The heavy object crashed against his skull, sending him sprawling. Her stunning heels made it harder to move, but Emily kicked them off with one quick motion, ready to fight.

The next guard lunged toward her, but she sidestepped him, grabbing a candlestick from the mantel and jabbing it into his stomach. His groan filled the room as he crumpled.

Breathing hard, Emily felt a surge of adrenaline. She had trained herself for these moments—self-defense classes with her brother had prepared her for any ambush. Another guard rushed forward, but she ducked low, slamming the candlestick into his kneecap before grabbing a nearby chair and smashing it across his back.

Peter Lockwood's face twisted with fury as the chaos erupted. "Subdue her!" he barked. More guards advanced.

Just as Emily was growing overwhelmed by the sheer numbers, a loud crash echoed from the far end of the hall, and the lights flickered out.

In the confusion, Slyvia, hidden in the shadows, crept further into the mansion, her heart hammering. She had followed Emily, ready to rescue her when the moment arose. As the guards focused on capturing Emily, Slyvia darted down a hallway, heading toward the rooms Peter had been guarding.

She slipped into one of the rooms, her eyes scanning the dimly lit space. The moment she saw the picture on the wall, her blood ran cold. It was a photograph of Damian—Damian Wayne Williams, the mysterious man the black dragons where bent on eliminating . And yet, next to the picture, was a vial of toxic substance.

Her hands shook as she inspected it closer. Could this be it? The flower capable of killing Damian? It was said to be extinct. How could Abigail have possibly acquired it? The implications were terrifying. Only Damian could defeat the Black Dragons. If he was taken down, they were all doomed.

Slyvia's chest tightened with fear. She had to warn Lamia. But as she stuffed the vial into her pocket, she realized the school was now on lockdown. Hadrain had vanished, security was everywhere, and getting out of the school undetected was nearly impossible.

Her pulse quickened as she slipped out of the room, determination flooding her mind. She needed to save Emily. She needed to escape. And, more urgently, she had to find Daniel—there was no time to waste. Her mind raced, thinking of Lamia. Could she contact him? Could he stop this madness?

As Emily fought her way through the guards, her body was beginning to tire. But she knew she couldn't give up. Just as she landed a blow on another approaching guard, the electricity flickered back on.

Emily's muscles tensed as the remaining guards advanced, and this time, there were too many. They grabbed her from both sides, pinning her arms behind her back. Her heart pounded. She'd fought as hard as she could, but it wasn't enough.

Just as the guards were about to drag her away, the lights suddenly flickered off again. A loud crash echoed through the mansion as sparks flew from the ceiling, and Emily turned to see Slyvia running toward her, pulling at the electrical cables, sending the room into darkness once more.

"Slyvia!" Emily gasped, relief flooding through her. With a quick, sharp kick, Slyvia knocked out one of the guards holding Emily before grabbing her friend's hand and pulling her to her feet.

"We need to go. Now," Slyvia whispered, her voice tight with urgency.

They darted through the mansion, dodging guards as they fled toward the exit. Their footsteps echoed in the vast halls as they raced toward the dormitories. Emily's heart pounded in her chest, fear and adrenaline driving her forward.

Behind them, they could hear the guards shifting, transforming into giant scorpions, their monstrous forms sending chills down Emily's spine. The beasts' hissing and the clatter of their legs against the marble floors made the girls run faster.

Finally, they made it back to their dormitory, breathless and panicked. Emily slammed the door shut, fumbling to lock it, while Slyvia frantically padlocked the windows. They stood in silence for a moment, catching their breath, as the horrifying sounds of the scorpions scuttled outside.

Once safe, Slyvia turned to Emily, her face pale. "I found something. Something… terrifying." Her voice wavered as she pulled the vial from her pocket. "This is the key to killing Damian."

Emily stared at her, wide-eyed. "But Damian is immortal. How—how did they get this?"

Slyvia shook her head, fear etched on her face. "I don't know. But it's real. They have it. And if they kill Damian, we're all doomed. He's the only one who can defeat the Black Dragons."

Emily's mind whirled with the revelation, but another thought gnawed at her. "Slyvia… why didn't you tell me this before? About Daniel being Lamia's doppelganger? About the Black Dragons? Why did you keep this from me?"

Slyvia's face crumbled with guilt. "I was trying to protect you."

Emily's chest tightened. "Protect me? By lying to me? By hiding the truth? How can I trust you now?"

Tears welled up in Slyvia's eyes as she stepped forward, reaching out for her friend. "Emily, please, I didn't mean to hurt you. I just didn't know how—"

"Stop," Emily snapped, stepping back. The pain of Slyvia's betrayal cut deep. "I trusted you, Slyvia. You were the only person I could trust. And now…" Her voice broke. "Now I don't even know what's real anymore."

Without another word, Emily stormed toward the door, her heart aching. Slyvia desperate pleas echoed behind her. But Emily didn't turn back.

While the chaos at the Lockwood estate unfolded and Emily and Slyvia made their daring escape, Alexa sat alone in her room at the far end of the mansion, her eyes swollen from hours of crying. Her heart, already fragile from Hadrain's disappearance, shattered completely when the truth about her lineage was revealed. She had learned in the cruelest way possible that she wasn't a true heir to the Lockwood legacy, that Abigail—her hated Rival—was now the rightful heir to the inheritance and the power of the Black Dragon.

Alexa's fingers trembled as she clutched the sides of her chair, her mind replaying the moment Peter Lockwood had announced that Abigail would inherit everything. Every ounce of privilege, every drop of power, now belonged to Abigail—while Alexa was reduced to nothing.

Not just nothing—a bastard. A lie.

Her once luxurious world, filled with opulence and admiration, had crumbled beneath her feet. Abigail had stolen everything. Hadrain, the only person Alexa thought she could count on, had disappeared, leaving her to face the humiliation alone. Dinah and Sophia, her closest companions, had started to drift away, afraid of the cold, calculating wrath that now consumed her.

But Alexa wasn't weak. No, she would make them all pay.

With a deep, shuddering breath, Alexa wiped the last of her tears from her face. There was no room for grief now, only vengeance. Her eyes gleamed with a newfound darkness as she rose to her feet and crossed the room to a hidden safe embedded in the wall. Her trembling hands pressed a sequence of numbers, the code that only she knew, and with a soft click, the door swung open.

Inside the safe was a dagger, unlike any other—a deadly blade, forged centuries ago by the sorcerers who once served the Black Dragon. Its edge shimmered with a faint, eerie glow, and the hilt was intricately engraved with runes that could bind souls to the underworld.

"Abigail took everything from me," Alexa muttered under her breath, her fingers curling around the dagger's hilt. "But I'll take her life. And I'll take Emily's too. Hadrain loved her, didn't he? Well, let's see if he still loves her when she's dead."

Her steps were heavy as she marched out of the room, her mind made up. She would finish what she started. Abigail and Emily would both pay for the pain they had caused. Emily—the girl who had Hadrain's heart. Abigail—the one who stole Alexa's rightful place. She would see them both fall.

Her grip on the dagger tightened as she made her way toward the dormitory. The night was cold, the wind howling through the trees, but Alexa didn't feel it. All she could feel was the burning fire of vengeance that consumed her heart. Emily Bennet and Abigail Lockwood would be no more.