The air in Betrayal High was thick with a tension so heavy it felt like walking through smoke. Every hallway carried the scent of old blood, betrayal, and fear. Word of Ronan's message had spread like wildfire, leaving even the most hardened students glancing over their shoulders. Rumors twisted around every corner—some said he was a ghost, others a demon. But Selena knew the truth. Ronan was a devil made flesh, and he was coming.
Selena stood at the edge of the underground courtyard, watching the students gather. Luna beside her, Xavier a few steps away. No one spoke. The night was still too fresh, her mother's blood not yet dry on the concrete.
"He's alive," Luna whispered, breaking the silence.
Selena's jaw clenched. "He's worse than alive. He's planning something bigger than anything Damon or my mother ever dared."
Xavier approached, his expression grim. "We've got eyes on the perimeter. No one's seen him yet, but people are vanishing. Chris from the west wing. Kira from detention block. Even old Coach Warren's missing."
"He's picking them off," Selena murmured. "Testing us."
A low hum vibrated through the air, the school's ancient lights flickering. Then a single phone buzzed. Then another. And another. Within seconds, dozens of screens lit up with the same message:
"The Crimson Reckoning begins. One hour. The Crimson Room. Come armed. Or don't come at all."
Selena felt her stomach twist. The Crimson Room. It was an old nickname for the abandoned theater at the far end of campus—the place where Ronan's body had supposedly been found.
"We have to go," Selena said.
Xavier nodded. "We'll die if we do."
"We'll die if we don't," Luna shot back.
Selena turned to the students gathered around them. "Anyone who's not ready for this… leave now. No shame in it."
No one moved.
A savage grin tugged at Selena's lips. "Good."
---
The trek to the Crimson Room felt like walking into a grave. Every step echoing, every shadow whispering of what was to come. The doors loomed ahead, their crimson paint faded to rusted brown. Xavier forced them open with a groan that sounded like the school itself weeping.
Inside, the theater was a relic of another time. Velvet curtains hung in tatters. Broken chairs littered the floor. The air reeked of mildew and old secrets.
And in the center of the stage stood Ronan.
He was alive.
But not as Selena remembered. His face bore scars that hadn't been there before. His left eye was milky white. His smile, however, was exactly the same—sharp, cruel, and gleeful.
"Welcome back to the kingdom," Ronan called, arms wide. "Did you miss me?"
Selena stepped forward, heart pounding. "Why?"
"Why?" Ronan echoed, mockingly. "Because you buried me. Because you left me to bleed out in this very room while Damon took my crown and your mother betrayed us all."
"You were a tyrant," Xavier spat.
"And you're saints now?" Ronan laughed, the sound echoing through the dead theater. "You're all monsters. You just haven't accepted it yet."
More figures stepped out from the shadows. Faces both familiar and foreign. Chris. Kira. Even Coach Warren. All of them marked with red paint slashed across their faces.
"My loyalists," Ronan said proudly. "Those who remembered who truly ruled this school."
Selena raised a hand. "This isn't your school anymore."
"Isn't it?"
With a snap of his fingers, the doors slammed shut. The lights flickered. A blood-red glow bathed the stage.
And then the fighting began.
Selena lunged at Ronan, but he was ready, ducking her strike and landing a blow to her ribs. Pain blossomed, but she powered through it, slamming her fist into his jaw.
Around them, students clashed. Screams filled the air. Blood sprayed across broken seats.
Luna took down Kira with a brutal swing of a metal pipe. Xavier and Chris traded blows, neither gaining the upper hand.
Ronan was a whirlwind of violence. Faster, crueler than before. But Selena fought with the fury of a girl who'd lost everything.
"You should've stayed dead!" she roared.
"Death's overrated," Ronan hissed.
He grabbed her by the throat, slamming her against the stage backdrop. Selena gasped, vision swimming.
"Last chance," Ronan growled. "Kneel."
Selena spat blood into his face.
Ronan's snarl twisted into a grin. "Wrong choice."
A gunshot rang out.
Ronan staggered back.
Luna stood at the edge of the stage, gun trembling in her hands.
Selena coughed, forcing herself upright.
"You keep saving me," she rasped.
"It's getting old," Luna shot back.
But Ronan didn't fall. He looked down at the blood soaking his shirt, then back at them, grinning.
"Cute," he said. "But you'll need more than that."
The doors burst open.
The police.
Finally.
Selena didn't know who called them. Didn't care. Uniformed officers swarmed in, weapons drawn.
Ronan's loyalists scattered. Ronan raised his hands, blood dripping from his fingers.
"You'll regret this," he called as they dragged him away.
Selena collapsed to her knees, the world spinning.
It was over.
Or so she thought.
---
Two hours later, Selena sat on the roof of the school, watching dawn break over Betrayal High. Luna sat beside her, silent. Xavier stood guard at the door.
"I can't believe it's done," Luna murmured.
Selena didn't answer. Because something gnawed at her gut.
Then her phone buzzed.
A message.
"You didn't really think it was over, did you? – R."
Attached was a photo.
Of Ronan.
Smiling.
In a police uniform.
Standing over a bloodied, unrecognizable corpse in a cell.
Xavier grabbed the phone, his face going pale.
"It's not possible," he whispered.
Selena's stomach dropped.
It wasn't over.
It had never been over.
And the war for Betrayal High had just begun.