Every night was the same, me being stuck in the poorly lit alley backed up in the corner waiting for my death, not being able to move a limb as I quickly get surrounded and outnumbered by the same mysterious grim looking faces covered in black. I stand still under the darkness and wait for this nightmare to be over knowing too well what’s going to happen next. I don’t know how I know this is a nightmare every time I have it, especially since I can’t help but feel it’s a part of reality. I take a few deep breaths, trying to calm myself as I repeatedly chant that it is just a dream, begging myself to wake up. The figures slowly back away, making a path for my murderer as she steps out and slowly walks towards me with a devilish grin plastered on her face, which I could not help but to shiver in the sight of every time. She would be just an ordinary girl if she hadn’t shown up before in my other nightmares, but there was still this feeling of recognition and familiarity about her. “How could you?” I would scream before she stabs me and that’s my cue to wake up. I shot straight from the bed, ending my night terror. I was bathed in cold sweat, breathing heavily. The sheets were twisted around my limbs, probably because I was thrashing in my sleep. I looked around me with darted eyes, feeling quite disoriented by my new surroundings. I tried to get a clue of where I was, until everything came back to me and with a sigh of relief I put my hand against my pounding heart trying to steady it and calm myself down. “It’s just the same nightmare, nothing to worry about.” I reassured myself even though the remnants of the nightmare still clanged to my mind and haunted me along with the strong feeling of pain and betrayal. I glanced at the tall glass window that still displayed darkness outside. I looked at the clock on my night table and I realized that I only had three hours of sleep. I sighed, knowing too well that I was never going back to sleep now, so I grabbed my towel, my toothbrush and my shampoo and headed towards my bathroom to take an early morning shower and get ready.

Refreshed as I was after that, I went back to my room and got dressed. Noticing that I still got a few minutes before the sunrise, I decided to take a walk near the lake -seeing how I still didn’t get the chance to discover it up close- and enjoy the first sun rays of the day. Without waiting any longer I left my room as quietly as I could trying not to wake the girls up and tip toed downstairs, heading immediately towards the back door that leads to the garden and then the lake . I exhaled with relief when I stepped outside. The early morning air felt fresh and new, a gentle breeze caressed my skin as I started making my way through the dark stoned path trying- but mostly failing- to not get scratched by the growing trees that barely left the neglected path visible and created a natural avenue of greenery instead. As I finally got out of that busy hell, I gasped in surprise and awe. The view I got up from my bedroom window didn’t come close to the reality I found myself in. The once small stoned path was now extended to big old looking stones, leading to the most beautiful place I have ever laid eyes on.

The silver light of dawn cast its shimmery rays on the clear water of the lake, its mirror flat surface still and peaceful. The trees surrounding it stood tall and proud, occasionally swaying as a light breeze ruffled their leaves. For a few minutes it felt as though time had stood still, for no sound came from the world beyond the lake. I took a deep breath, the smell of wet grass, jasmine and salty water relaxing my every nerve, and basked in the fact that for this brief amount of time I was completely alone.

I sat down slowly on the grass and I took a deep breath, watching the breathtaking scene ahead of me. Darkness had slowly surrendered itself to the light as brilliant gold and orange hues started filling the once silver sky. The bright sun started rising up from its hiding place and filled the sky with pure scattered light and splashed the clouds with endless rays of pink. It was so bright and mesmerizing, inviting me to stare deep into the horizon. The trees shone as if they were wearing golden crowns and the vast lake reflected all the bright beautiful colors.

“Breathtaking, isn’t it?”

I jumped up from the grass where I have been sitting a second ago and looked around frantically, heart pounding with alarm. I thought when I got here that I was alone and I didn’t bother to check my surroundings both because it was too early for anyone to be out and about after last night’s shindig and mostly because I was too absorbed by the view.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.” The voice spoke again and I turned to my right to see a tall boy emerging from between the trees. He was wearing black ripped jeans and a black shirt that hugged his lean body tightly. He ran his hand through his raven black locks, a sheepish smile on his face and a weird glint in his hazel eyes. He looked like he belonged in an emo band but somehow the black on black look made him seem so mysteriously attractive.

“You didn’t.” I lied. The last thing I was expecting this morning is for a handsome stranger to appear out of thin air and disturb my jumbled thoughts but I was not about to let him know that.

“That’s good!” He took a few steps toward me, his untamed hair made only messier with the wind. “Nobody usually comes here, especially not this early in the morning, so I wasn’t expecting company.”

“Neither was I.” I brushed my hair out of my eyes.

“I’m Kiseop.” He extended his hand for me to shake with a warm smile.

“Lilith.” I said as I took his hand in mine. I wasn’t exactly sure how to act seeing how he literally came out from the woods. I’ve seen enough horror movies to know that this is probably when I should start running, but I figured I was in school and in a public place. Regardless, I wasn’t about to let my guard down.

“Nice to meet you Lilith. You’re the new girl, right? I heard a lot about you.” His warm smile never left his lips and he kept a safe distance between us to not alarm me.

“Don’t believe everything you hear.” I said coolly, trying not to let my panic show. I could guess what gossip had been spreading about me. Homeschooled freak who knows nothing about magic, powerless mystic, disgrace to our kind… It wasn’t a pretty picture.

“So far everything I heard turned out to be true.” He titled his head to the side. “You really are beautiful.”

“Smooth.” I tried not to blush but failed miserably. “That’s not all you’ve heard though, is it?”

“I try not to pay too much attention to high school gossip. You hear so much over the years you just learn to tune it out.”

“That sounds amazing. I wish I could do that.”

“You’re new here, it’s very normal to be the center of attention. Especially with your looks and background. Girls are jealous, boys are interested.” He shrugged.

“You make it sound so simple.” I smiled as I replayed his words in my mind ‘Boys are interested.’ It was hard for me to fathom that any boy would be interested in me, after all I spent the last two years alone or with my parents.

“It is as simple as you want it to be.” He flashed me his pearly whites, clearly proud of his words of wisdom. “So, what are you doing here so early?”

“I couldn’t sleep.” I gave him a brief answer, not ready to get into my nightmares with him just yet no matter how warm and friendly he seemed to be.

“Nervous about school? He asked and I nodded in response. It wasn’t a complete lie, I was beyond terrified to start the school year. “Don’t worry about it, you’ll get through it.”

“I hope so.”

“Have you made any friends yet?”

“Yes, my roommates Kira and Rose have been really great to me so far.”

“Oh.” A weird look clouded his features for a second but it disappeared as fast as it had appeared that I thought I must have imagined it. “Well, now you have another friend.” His warm smile returned and I gazed in awe at the contrast between his pale skin, his dark hair and his bright hazel eyes. There was no doubt about it, Kiseop was absolutely gorgeous, and for some reason I suddenly felt self-aware and slightly insecure. “Say new friend" he continued, "would you like to have lunch with me today?”

My heart jumped at the sudden offer and I felt what seemed to be butterflies in my stomach. I didn’t know if I should be happy or worried but like it always is with me the first emotion I felt was anxiety. I really wanted to say no and just have lunch by myself or with the girls but I couldn’t afford to refuse such a great offer especially with my status at this school. I could use all the friends I could get.

“Yeah, sure. That would be great.” I gave him a small smile, afraid that if I smiled any longer I would just start looking like a killer clown.

“Fantastic. I’ll meet you by the front gates at around 1pm?”

“Alright.”

“Alright.” He repeated.

“Well" I cleared my throat, "I have to go now. I’ll see you then.”

“See you!” He waved just before I turned around and started towards the stone path again.

I remembered Sooyeon, the council member who greeted me yesterday when I first got to Lixierra, told me that I was supposed to meet Mr Isaiah, a teacher who was going to help me work on my powers. I felt a little panicked, unsure what to expect from this meeting, but I pushed all thoughts aside for now. My meeting wasn’t until 10 am and the sun just rose a few minutes ago, which means I have almost 5 hours to worry so I decided I’ll do that over breakfast as my stomach suddenly started growling. The girls were still asleep when I returned, so I started the coffee machine and fetched the eggs and pancake mix. Kira and Rose were incredibly nice to me so making them breakfast seemed like the least I can do. I grabbed two pans from under the sink and started with the pancakes. When those were perfectly round and golden, I moved over to the omelets, mixing the eggs with the cheese I found in the fridge and some parsley.

“I smell food.” Rose said in between yawns as she came down the stairs and straight into the kitchen.

“I smell coffee.” Kira followed suit, her blue hair a tangled mess around her face.

“Aw, you made breakfast! Thank you!” Rose beamed as she grabbed a fork and dug into her omelet.

“You’re welcome.” I smiled as I grabbed the mugs and poured us some coffee.

“Why are you up so early?” Kira asked as she sipped on her black coffee. No sugar, no cream, I wondered how she could drink that.

“I couldn’t sleep, so I went to watch the sunrise by the lake.” I poured caramel syrup on my pancakes and took a bite.

“Yeah, I didn’t sleep that well either.” Rose gave me a sympathetic look. “That party gave me a headache.”

“Who are you trying to kid?” Kira scoffed. “I heard your snoring through my walls. It was so loud it was a miracle you didn’t wake the whole school up.”

“Excuse you, ladies don’t snore.” Rose whipped her hair back and gave Kira a dramatic glare.

“Good thing I don’t see any ladies around!” Kira exclaimed, and a few seconds later the three of us were tearing up from laughter.

“So, what are we doing today?” Rose asked once we settled down.

“Well, I am supposed to meet this teacher, Mr Isaiah… for magic practice. And then I have lunch plans with a guy I met this morning by the lake.” I offered with a sly smile.

“A guy?” Rose asked.

“A guy.” Kira repeated.

“His name is Kiseop and he is really cute.” I squealed.

“Kiseop?” they said in unison. They had this weird look on both their faces that reminded me of Kiseop’s reaction when I mentioned my roommates. But just like kiseop, the look vanished t