Chapter 1: Fractured Bonds

Ava stood at the edge of the school’s courtyard, the cold air biting at her cheeks. Her fingers gripped the straps of her backpack tightly, her nails pressing into the fabric until it hurt. She didn’t even notice. She was too busy watching the distant clouds, willing herself not to think about him.

Noah.

Her heart clenched at the thought. She hated the way his name still slipped into her mind like a whisper, no matter how much she tried to push it away. It had been two years since they had spoken—since he had left her. After her mother died, Noah had just… walked away.

She had never told him how much it hurt to see him disappear, how his silence after her mom’s funeral had been the loudest thing in her life. He hadn’t even tried to explain. Not once. He hadn’t been there when she needed him most. And now, after everything, he still had the power to occupy her thoughts.

“Ava?”

She turned quickly, startled by the sound of her name. It was Mr. Carter, the art teacher, standing by the door with a clipboard in hand. His expression was kind, but there was a slight edge of impatience in his tone. “I need you to go to the storeroom and grab some supplies for me. I’ll give you the list.”

Ava nodded stiffly, not trusting herself to speak. The last thing she wanted was to make small talk with anyone, especially when her mind was so clouded by memories of Noah. She walked past him, heading toward the narrow hallway that led to the old storage closet at the back of the school.

It was quieter there, isolated—a place where she could lose herself in her thoughts without the constant buzz of people around her. She could do this. Just go in, grab the supplies, and leave. Simple.

But as she reached for the door, the faint scent of paint and old paper made her freeze. It was a smell that reminded her of the time Noah had taught her how to blend colors in their art class—before everything had fallen apart. They’d been so close then, two halves of the same whole.

Ava pushed the door open and stepped inside, the dim light flickering overhead as the cool air wrapped around her. She scanned the shelves for what she needed, her mind buzzing with unwanted memories. Her eyes landed on a stack of empty canvases and rolled tubes of paint. Her fingers brushed against them absently, and suddenly, the world seemed to shift.

She was back there—back in her room, in the days just after her mother’s death.

The hallway was quiet then, too, as she sat by the window, staring at the gray sky outside. She couldn’t find the words to explain how much it hurt. How much she wanted to scream, to just get rid of the hollow ache inside her chest. But Noah had been there, at first. He’d tried to comfort her, to pull her out of herself. But then—he left.

The image of him walking away from her—his back turned, shoulders stiff—flashed before her eyes. He hadn’t said a word. No explanation, no promises of coming back. Nothing. Just gone. She had been alone.

Ava sucked in a sharp breath, shaking her head to clear the thoughts. It wasn’t like she needed to think about it now. It didn’t matter anymore. She was fine. She had learned to be.

Her hands were trembling, and she quickly grabbed the supplies Mr. Carter had asked for, stuffing them into the bag with a little more force than necessary. But the memory wouldn’t leave. It never did.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps broke her from her trance, and before she could react, the door to the storeroom slammed open.

Noah.

She froze, her heart racing as her eyes met his.

“What are you doing here?” she demanded, her voice sharp and defensive. She could feel the old anger bubbling inside her, but she tried to keep it contained. After all this time, he had the audacity to show up? To just appear?

Noah stood in the doorway, his expression unreadable. His hair was messier than usual, and his jacket sleeves were rolled up, exposing the faint scars on his forearms—scars she had once known too well. His jaw was tight, and the way he looked at her made her stomach churn. He hadn’t changed at all. He still had that look of someone who was too afraid to let anyone get too close.

“I—” He hesitated, then stepped inside, his eyes flicking to the supplies she was holding. “I was told to grab the paint for the class.”

Ava blinked, suddenly aware of the awkwardness between them. “Right. Of course.” She tightened her grip on the bag. She couldn’t just stand here with him. Not after everything. “Well, I’m almost done here, so—”

“Ava.”

She looked up, meeting his gaze. The way he said her name—it made her stomach twist in a way she couldn’t explain. There was something about it that felt so familiar, and yet so wrong. She hated the way her heart clenched at the sound. She hated that he still had that power over her.

“What do you want, Noah?” she spat, her anger slipping through despite her best efforts. “You left. You just left and—”

“I didn’t want to hurt you,” he interrupted quietly, his voice low. “I thought it would be better if I stayed away.”

Ava’s breath caught in her throat. She laughed bitterly. “You thought that leaving me alone would be better? After everything?”

He looked away, running a hand through his hair. “I wasn’t strong enough to be there for you. I thought—” He stopped, shaking his head. “I thought you’d hate me if I stayed.”

Ava stared at him, her chest tight. She wanted to scream at him. She wanted to make him feel every ounce of the pain she had carried since the day he left. But instead, she just stood there, silent. The anger that had fueled her for so long suddenly felt hollow, like something she had been carrying for too long and couldn’t keep anymore.

“I don’t have time for this,” she said, her voice quieter now. “I don’t need your explanations.”

Without waiting for his response, Ava turned and walked out of the storeroom, not looking back. She could hear Noah calling her name behind her, but she didn’t stop. She couldn’t stop. Not now. Not when everything was still so broken between them.

As she walked through the hallway, she didn’t know what she was running from anymore. The memories. The pain. Or the possibility of something worse—letting him back in.

The air in the hallways of the school felt tense, the kind of stillness that suggested everyone was trying to avoid one another. Ava hated it. She hated the stares, the whispered conversations, the silent judgment that seemed to follow her wherever she went. But she had learned to block it out, to move through the day like a ghost, unnoticed, unbothered.

When Mr. Carter’s voice called her name, she almost didn’t react. But then the command registered.

“Ava, Noah, I need you both to grab some supplies from the storeroom.”

Ava glanced at Noah from across the hall. He was standing with his usual distant look, his eyes unfocused as if he were somewhere else. They hadn’t spoken to each other in weeks, and she preferred it that way. After everything, after he had left her without so much as a goodbye, there was nothing to say. Nothing to fix.

But now, they were being sent together—just the two of them—to fetch some art supplies. The irony wasn’t lost on her.

“Come on,” Noah said, his voice almost flat. He didn’t look at her directly, just moved in her direction, the weight of their shared past hanging between them like an unspoken rule.

Ava didn’t respond, just walked ahead of him, her pace quickening as she tried to get to the storeroom as fast as possible.

When they reached the door, it creaked open, the musty smell of paint and old paper wafting out to greet them. The room was cluttered with art supplies, stacks of canvas, jars of brushes, and various bottles of paint—most of which looked like they hadn’t been touched in years.

“This is where we’re supposed to be,” Ava said, her voice sharp. She moved toward the shelves, trying to avoid looking at Noah, trying to ignore the way his presence seemed to fill the space between them.

Noah didn’t say anything, just leaned against the wall by the door, arms crossed, looking like he was waiting for the whole thing to be over.

Ava rummaged through the supplies, focusing on the task at hand. The sooner they were out of here, the better. She didn’t need Noah’s silent judgment or his presence haunting her.

But as she grabbed a bottle of paint, the door slammed shut behind them with a heavy thud. Ava froze. Her breath caught in her throat, and for a moment, everything seemed to stop.

“What the hell?” Noah muttered, his hand going to the door handle. He tried to twist it, but it wouldn’t budge.

Ava’s heart skipped. “What’s going on?”

Noah’s brow furrowed. “I don’t know. It’s stuck.”

The two of them pulled at the door, tugging at the handle with no success. It was as if the door itself had locked them in. Ava’s palms grew clammy, her chest tightening. The feeling of being trapped, unable to escape, was something she had become too familiar with. She took a step back, trying to shake off the anxiety creeping in.

“Great. Just great,” she muttered, trying to keep her voice steady.

Noah shot her a quick, frustrated look, but before either of them could say anything else, the air in the storeroom seemed to shift. The shadows on the walls stretched longer, deeper, and Ava felt a sudden, heavy weight pressing down on her chest. The room seemed to grow smaller. It was suffocating, like she couldn’t breathe.

“What the hell’s happening?” Noah’s voice was tight now, his usual calm replaced by something that sounded almost… scared.

Ava’s eyes darted around the room, but nothing made sense. Nothing was right. She wanted to scream, to panic, but her mind was locked in place, like it was being pulled into something she couldn’t control.

And then—suddenly—it happened.

The world around her blurred. The shelves, the jars of paint, the boxes of art supplies—they all faded away. Everything disappeared, and in its place, she was back.

Back in her room.

Back in the days after her mother’s death.

Ava stood in the corner of her bedroom, staring at the window as the rain fell outside. The world beyond the glass was blurry, muffled, like she was trapped in a glass bubble. Her hands trembled at her sides as she tried to steady herself. She was supposed to be moving forward, supposed to be getting better, but it didn’t feel like anything was changing. Her mother was gone. And Noah… Noah was gone too.

The memory was too fresh. The day he left was still burned into her mind.

Noah had stood in the doorway of her room, his expression unreadable. He had said nothing for a long time, his eyes avoiding hers like he couldn’t bear to look at her.

“I can’t do this,” he had finally said, his voice quiet, but firm. “I’m sorry. I think you need to be alone right now.”

Ava’s chest had tightened as he spoke, the finality in his words making her heart ache. She had wanted to reach out, to beg him to stay, but something inside her had held her back. She didn’t want him to see her like that. Broken. Shattered.

“You can’t leave me,” she had whispered, her voice cracking.

But Noah had already turned, walking out the door, leaving her in the silence that felt louder than any words.

“Ava?” The voice pulled her back from the memory, harsh and insistent. It was Noah’s voice, but it was distant now. She blinked rapidly, trying to clear the haze from her mind.

She was back in the storeroom.

The world around her slowly returned to focus, but it wasn’t the same. The weight of the memory pressed down on her like a stone in her chest, and she felt the familiar sting of tears threatening to spill over. But she fought them back. She couldn’t let Noah see her like this. Not again.

“Noah,” she whispered, her voice shaking. “You left me.”

The words slipped out before she could stop them. Her heart was pounding in her chest, the anger, the pain, the rawness of the memory too much to contain.

Noah’s eyes softened, and he took a step toward her, but before he could say anything, the room seemed to lurch again, the darkness closing in around them.

Ava’s breath hitched in her throat as everything seemed to fade into nothingness. The past, the present, everything—they all merged into a blur, as though she were being pulled into something much larger than herself.

And then, the lights flickered once more, and the world went black.

Ava’s breath caught in her throat as the darkness engulfed her. The world around her—the storeroom, the shelves, the weight of Noah’s presence—had all vanished in an instant. She felt as though she were falling, her body weightless, suspended in a void where time had no meaning. Her heartbeat was a drum in her ears, loud and erratic, as she grasped for anything solid to anchor her.

A sudden jolt threw her forward, and she gasped, landing hard against the ground. Her hands scraped against the rough earth, and she winced, blinking rapidly as the world around her started to come into focus. It was no longer the cluttered storeroom or her familiar high school. The air was thick, strange, and smelled of damp earth and unfamiliar flowers.

Noah’s voice cut through the confusion. “Ava?”

She scrambled to her feet, her head spinning, trying to make sense of what had just happened. She turned toward Noah, who had landed a few feet away, his body sprawled out on the ground. He was staring at the sky, wide-eyed and disoriented, like he couldn’t believe what was happening either.

“Ava, what the hell is going on?” Noah's voice was shaky, his usual calm replaced with panic.

Ava didn’t have an answer. She could barely process the fact that they were no longer in the storeroom—no longer in their world. The sky above them was a strange shade of violet, and the trees surrounding them were unlike anything she’d seen before—tall, twisted, their bark dark and jagged, their leaves shimmering with an unnatural glow. The ground was soft, spongy, and yet somehow unyielding beneath her feet. It felt like they had stepped into some sort of dream—or nightmare.

She reached down, helping Noah to his feet. “I don’t know,” she murmured, still too stunned to make sense of it all.

Noah shook his head, clearly trying to regain his bearings. He looked around frantically, his eyes darting from the glowing trees to the sky and back again. “This isn’t… this isn’t real, right? This has to be some kind of illusion.”

Ava swallowed hard, her throat dry. She wished she could say it was just some trick of the mind, but she knew, deep down, that it wasn’t. The air felt too real, the ground beneath her feet too solid.

But then, from behind them, a low rumbling sound broke through the silence. Ava’s head snapped around, her heart leaping into her throat. The noise was like thunder, deep and unsettling, but it didn’t come from the sky. It came from the ground itself. The ground trembled beneath her feet.

Noah’s eyes widened. “Do you feel that?”

Ava nodded, her stomach twisting with unease. Something was moving beneath them. Something massive.

Before either of them could react, a figure emerged from the shadows of the trees—a tall, cloaked figure with glowing eyes. Its presence radiated power, its movement almost fluid, as if it weren’t fully bound by the laws of the physical world. Ava froze, unable to look away. Her instincts screamed at her to run, but her legs wouldn’t move.

The figure stopped a few feet away, its gaze fixed on them. A cold smile tugged at the edges of its mouth, a smile that sent a chill through Ava’s bones.

“You’re not supposed to be here,” the figure said, its voice a haunting melody that seemed to echo in her head. The words sounded like a warning, but the figure didn’t move to attack.

Ava’s heart hammered in her chest. “Who—who are you?” she demanded, trying to sound brave, but her voice wavered.

The figure’s eyes glowed brighter, flickering with something that resembled amusement. “It doesn’t matter who I am,” it replied smoothly. “You’ve entered my world. And now, you must learn the consequences.”

Noah stepped forward, his jaw clenched, but there was an unease in his posture. He could sense it too—the danger, the weight of the situation pressing down on them. “What do you want from us?” he asked, his voice low but firm.

The figure tilted its head, as if considering the question. “I don’t want anything from you,” it said finally. “But you are not supposed to be here. You’ve crossed into another realm—one where the rules of your world no longer apply.”

Ava’s mind raced. She glanced at Noah, her thoughts jumbled. This wasn’t just a dream. This wasn’t some trick. Somehow, impossibly, they had been transported into another world. And this... this figure was a guardian, or a warden, or something far worse.

Noah looked at the figure, then back at Ava, his expression unreadable. He stepped closer to her, his body blocking her from view. “We don’t want any trouble,” he said, his tone guarded, but with an edge of defiance. “We don’t even know how we got here.”

The figure’s smile widened, and it took a step toward them. The air seemed to hum with energy, the tension palpable. Ava’s heart skipped a beat.

“You’ve already caused trouble,” the figure said, its voice carrying an almost amused undertone. “You’ve stumbled into the realm of the Exiled. The realm of those who were cast aside. And you, child of the king and queen, will soon learn that nothing in this place is as it seems.”

Ava's Blood ran cold at the mention of king and queen. Her's.... Noah's..... she had no idea, she felt numb at the voice of the figure. The word king and queen reverberated in her mind and she shivered in fear. She felt to ask for the meaning

but before she could ask what it meant, a deafening roar echoed through the air. Ava and Noah both turned toward the source of the noise, their bodies instinctively shifting into a defensive stance. The ground trembled again, more violently this time, and the trees around them rustled in response.

The figure raised its hand, signaling them to stay calm. “It seems your arrival has already stirred the beasts,” it said, its voice laced with a touch of regret. “I suggest you prepare yourselves. There is no going back.”

Ava’s mind spun as the figure’s words sank in. No going back? Were they trapped here? Was there a way out? But she didn’t have time to dwell on it. Something massive was moving toward them.

From the depths of the trees, something emerged—a massive, dark shape, covered in spiny scales. It lumbered toward them, its glowing eyes fixed on the two of them with an almost predatory gleam. The figure stepped back, its glowing eyes still trained on them.

Noah turned to Ava, his face hard with resolve. “We need to move. Now.”

Ava nodded, her heart pounding in her chest. There was no choice now. The world around them wasn’t just unfamiliar—it was dangerous. And they needed to survive.

The figure’s voice drifted to them one last time, cold and detached. “You may have entered by accident, but you will leave only by choice... or not at all.”

Ava didn’t wait to hear more. She grabbed Noah’s arm and pulled him into motion. The strange new world was closing in, and they had to find a way to survive—before it consumed them.