Icy white eyes beckoned him from across the conference hall. 

  "We need to talk," the celestial's voice echoed in his mind 

 "Do we?" Death asked, turning to focus his gaze on the Maestro standing on the podium. Hushed whispers and giggles spread throughout the room as the Dean announced about the homecoming. 

"What is homecoming?" Sapphire's voice came to him again.

"A ball with less formalities,"

"Meet me at the cafeteria during lunch, It is important,"

She stood out in this sea of cadets, Death found her head of white peering outside the window at the right wing of the cafeteria. Balancing a tray of assorted delicacies in his hands he made his way through the throng of hungry youngsters.

  "What is it you wanted to talk about?" He slid into the chair opposite to hers.

  "I'll take the shawarma, thank you very much," before he could stop her from taking it, she had already bitten into the wrap and was now chewing contently. Death nibbled on a potato wedgie, waiting for her to answer his question.

  "Are you going to tell me what you wanted to talk about?" He asked, again.

  "Nikolai was visited by a Nephilim last night at the Serenity Garden. There has been a breach in the veils separating the different realms, the underworld now has an opening and the dead souls aren't the only ones interested in joining the land of the living."

Sapphire watched Death stiffen at the mention of the breached veils, to everyone around they were just two cadets having lunch in silence, "She said something about 'the one who shall not be named'."

  "Chaos.. his name is chaos," Death confirmed.

  "One of the old gods?"

  "The oldest, the first to ever exist,"

 Sapphire disagreed on that, every pantheon had their own myths of how everything came to be. 

  "And when were you created, Death?" She asked him.

His sensuous lips curved into a smirk,"I wasn't created, I just am."

 "You just are.. right," Sapphire scoffed,"Why would Chaos want to escape?"

 "You of all people shouldn't be asking this question," Death's velvety voice caressed her mind,"Do you like to be chained, Sapphire?" He asked.

 "Only under certain circumstances," She held his eyes, two can play at this game.

 "Being in Tartarus for eons isn't as pleasant, Chaos has been plotting to escape since eons. He is hungry to reclaim his powers and unleash them in all the realms, the mortal realm will be the first because this is the weakest."

 "We have to inform the dean, reinforce the shield around the academy to prevent further interference." 

 "A shield isn't going to stop Chaos, we have to be prepared. Tell that silver haired warrior of yours to polish his fighting staff and reserve his energy," Death suddenly grinned like a Cheshire cat, his fingers flipping through the sheets pinned to his clipboard,"So many souls to collect."

 "Does that list change?" She asked.

 "Unless something is done about the impending doom my dear celestial the list will remain the same."

Grabbing a few potato wedges Sapphire made her way out of the cafeteria. 

 "Thank you for the information Death, wouldn't have been too bad," The insolent voice chuckled in her mind one more before she made it out of the cafeteria.

 She found the fae in the Alpha residence, lounging in the common room. He tipped his head and let out a boisterous laugh at something Gideon told him earning a smack from Lily who was braiding his hair.

 "Tsk.. Don't move," She heard her say. 

Alana and Cora were seated beside Gideon, the healer's eyes stealing glances of the fae seated in front of her.

  "His name is Chaos," Sapphire said, walking over to the group.

  "Who is Chaos?" Alana asked.

  "One of the old gods, he has escaped from Tartarus and wants to cause havoc in the mortal realm." She sat in the empty space next to Nikolai.

  "I don't understand," Cora began but Lily cut her off.

  "According to Greek mythology Chaos is the first primordial being, born out of Chaos were Gaia also known as mother Earth, Tartarus, Uranus, Nyx and Erebus. It's a long story Cora I'll tell you in entirety someday or maybe we can find a book for you in the library,"

  "What has Chaos got to do with us?" Alana asked.

 Sapphire shot a look at Nikolai.

"Last night I was visited by a Nephilim," clearing his throat he recounted last night's events to them. By the time he arrived at the conclusion his cheeks mirrored the pink tinged on Alana's cheeks.

  "Not all who escaped will be harmless like the nephilim, with the upcoming ball it would do good for us to be cautious." Gideon's hand seemed to automatically go to the scabbard at his hip as he spoke. 

  "We need to fortify the academy's defences, move about only in pairs or groups and have some sort of weapon on us at all times." Lily said as a matter of fact, not even looking up for a second when everybody trained their eyes on her,

 "What?" She asked, feeling the gazes weighing down on her, "I just happen to read a lot of high fantasy."

  A smile tugged at Sapphire's lips at Lily's words, the girl was surprisingly level headed for a teenager. 

  "I will inform the Dean about this, Sapphire you should come with me." Nikolai touched his head, feeling the tiny cornrows Lily had braided at the side of his head. 

  "Here, have a look." Lily passed him a compact.

  A genuine smile lit his face at the image on the tiny mirror, "I look battle ready but in style."

  "I told you I could do it," She said, "Now pay up."

  He dropped a gold coin into her extended palm, Lily immediately bit into it, she was satisfied to see the dent her teeth made on the coin.

  "Thanks bro, this seems real. Hah! You should let me braid your hair every once in a while." 

  "Goddess help anyone who encounters you." Nikolai muttered under his breath as he clapped Gideon on the shoulder and looked him in the eye, "Good luck with this one brother," he thought knowing that Gideon could read his mind.

The smallest of smiles appeared on the knights lips, his brows furrowed in feigned confusion. 

  "You pine for her." 

 Nikolai looked at Alana, the sweet little creature wrapped up in her thoughts trying to process what she just heard. She was such a pure soul. 

  "Alana," he said, taking her hands in his,"we will need your help if anything goes wrong, you have a vital role to play." Flashing her a smile Nikolai walked out of the Alpha residence with Sapphire.

 "What else did Death say?" He asked as they neared the Dean's office.

 "Nothing of significance," Sapphire replied.

 "Really?"

 "Tell that silver haired warrior of yours to polish his fighting staff and reserve his energy," Sapphire banged the brass knocker onto the oak door.

 "That soul eating-" before he could complete his sentence the door flung open.