Empire of Eternals (Book 1 of The Eternal Series) ✔️

Prologue

Anderson Boarding School, Austrian Alps, Innsbruck, Western Austrian Region

***Adriana Anderson POV***

"Oh, fuck me."

I stared in shock at the boarding school go down in ruins; the pitiful dread of loosing the only place where I was able to master my magic. The stone building was engulfed in bright orange flames as they danced rhythmically, the screams of the students echoing as they struggled to find a way out of the fire.

The dark-grey smoke was rising up into the clear night sky as it covered the courtyard where I was sprawled on, being thrown several feet away from the force of the explosion as I groaned lowly from the pangs that slipped from my sealed lips.

"Ana! Get up." Hermione screamed, running over to me before pulling me up, dropping her mini backpack at her feet

"Are you okay?"

A distant ringing formed in my ears, causing me to wince out in pain. Dust and debris covered my body as it made it difficult for me to see what was in front of my eyes, blood pouring down from the sides of my face as it travelled down my neck and made my clothes damp.

"The other students." I muttered, my head hanging as Hermione kept a strong grip on me

"They were in the common area."

Horror crept onto her face at the sudden revelation, her cocoa-brown eyes widening at the sudden collapse of the tall structure of the hospital wing - sending a wave of dust in our direction - as other students scrambled to get to the great hall, the most protected part of the school.

"What happened?" She shouted, her voice becoming muffled with the screaming and collapsing as the fire soon began encircling us

"Aiden, he summoned fire, made an explosion. He's here." I rasped out, choking on the smoke as Hermione frantically looked around for Aiden

"Hermione, he vanished after the explosion."

"Stay right here! I'm going to send your brother to come to get you." She instructed, shouting to get her voice over the howling wind

Her hands loosened around my arms, letting them drop before she quickly sprinted away in the other direction, towards the great hall. My knees slightly buckled from the lack of support from Hermione as my loose hair fell to my sides, going down to my elbows as the wind blew it onto my face.

Even amidst all the chaos, I was grateful that Hermione was unharmed. She was at the foot of the mountain, away from the school, on a date with her girlfriend Jenna at the time of the explosion.

I didn't know what I would have done with Aiden if Hermione had gotten harmed. I couldn't let her end up like Katherine, who Aiden had killed to find out where I was hiding from him for the past few months.

But my new-found gratefulness didn't last long as a figure lingered behind the veil of the white smoke, my eyes following their every movement, fixated on them as the last of the students rushed past me to the safety of the great hall, the teachers pulling up the protection barrier around the building making sure no one could get in or out.

"Ana!" A voice shouted from behind

I immediately turned around, the smoke burning my eyes as they finally came into view. It was Dexter, my brother. All this time I thought he was safe inside, but instead, he came running towards me, his hair messed up, covered with dust along with his 2-piece black suit.

Paige, his girlfriend, ran right behind him, avoiding all the large pieces of rocks that were thrown from the explosion, huffing out the white smoke as it became too much for me to bear. The burning sensation at the side of my head, the uncontrollable bleeding, the ringing in my ear, it was all adding to the sharp pain that ran up and down my body.