Callista's restless fingers drummed against the worn pages. Sprawled on her stomach, her raven hair cascading down bare shoulders, she flipped through the forbidden romance novel with disdain. Why did these tales remain so captivating?

Natalia, her roommate with a penchant for crimson snacks and even bolder novels, sauntered by. "Devouring my 'trash' at an alarming rate, roomie?"

Callista scoffed, eyes glued to the page. "Compared to the chaos outside, these… chronicles provide some mindless escape, however cliche they may be."

The vampire’s playful tone softened. "Wouldn't mind a touch of that grand, dramatic love in your life, would you?"

"Love? It's just chemicals in the brain, nothing more."

Natalia, mid-slurp of her crimson sustenance, raised an eyebrow. "Charming as ever," she remarked.

Sensing a shift, Callista finally looked up, an eyebrow raised in question. "How about you?"

Natalia's smile faltered. "Once," she admitted softly, "But...well, she doesn't feel the same."

"She?"

A tremor passed through Natalia's frame. "Surprised? Not your thing, I guess?" she said, a hint of self-consciousness creeping in.

Callista, struck by a realisation, admitted, "I never really considered it." A shadow of disquiet crossed her face as her thoughts drifted back to the Church, to the rigid expectations that had confined her. Then, a different memory surfaced - piercing golden eyes that burned with an intensity that sent a jolt through her. She slammed the door shut on it, locking it away. 

No room for such thoughts, not now, not ever.

"Neither did I," Natalia confided, her voice soft, perceptive. "But someone wise pointed out that sometimes, we need to open our minds, break free from our cages."

A ghost of a smile, genuine and unexpected, bloomed on Callista's face, chasing away the shadows in her eyes. "Maybe that fortune cookie wasn't so bad after all.”

Natalia chuckled, a genuine laugh that resonated in the room. "Touché," she admitted with a playful wink. "Maybe not."

Silence settled between them, a comfortable space filled with the soft rustle of turning pages. As Callista shifted, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, a spark ignited in her mind, fanned into a flame by Natalia's words.

Open... mind?

What if Eydis wasn't who she expected? What if the Queen of the Damned wasn't the fearsome figure of legend, but someone who blended seamlessly amongst the students and staff, hidden in plain sight?

Callista's focus narrowed, the image of golden eyes and dark waves momentarily fading as a new possibility surged through her. Her heart hammered against her ribs. The memory of Athena flickered in her mind, but this time with a different meaning.

"Hey," Natalia started hesitantly, noticing the sudden shift in Callista's expression. "Whatever it is you're going through, you don't have to do it alone. You know that, right?"

Callista met her gaze, a flicker of warmth battling the rising dread in her chest. Glancing at the timer on her phone, she saw the time ticking down. But for a moment, she allowed herself to bask in the unexpected connection.

*****

Amethyst eyes, sharp as facets in a freshly cut gem, scanned the Administrative office. The night, cloaked in a shroud of inky darkness, held its breath, broken only by the soft whisper of unseen leaves as they stirred in the breeze. Callista moved with the grace of a predator, her new disguise surpassing the clunky limitations of Indigo's previous gas mask.

The air, thick with the musky scent of old paper, held a subtle undercurrent of something else. It was the faint, metallic tang of wolfsbane, a silent warning to those who dared enter uninvited. Callista, ever the hunter, took extra care to cloak herself in a neutralising scent. 

The elite students' records, shrouded in secrecy, were kept the old-fashioned way: on paper. Diving into this labyrinth, Callista treated the staff and student lists like her prey. Relief flooded her as she saw the meticulous organisation - categorised by species.

A silent snicker, barely a ripple in the stillness, escaped her lips as she approached a specific locker. Blazoned across its worn surface, a single word stood out in bold lettering: "Vampires." A flicker of satisfaction ignited in her gaze. And to her utter delight, the names within were further categorised - a hierarchy etched in ink, a testament to the vampires' insatiable thirst for status.

Ego, Callista mused, could be a double-edged sword. She skillfully encrypted a list of suspects addressed to Indigo via the Watchers' network.

With phantom-like swiftness, Callista vanished, leaving only the whisper of leaves and the ghost of moonlight in her wake.

As the hunter retraced her steps, each footfall echoed with a growing realisation. Eydis wasn't on the list. She could be anyone, lurking under a fabricated identity. 

And who in this academy exuded an aura as chilling as the Queen of the Damned? One name, a festering wound in her mind, refused to be ignored.

Princess Athena. 

The playful banter, the genuine laughter, the crinkling of her eyes - was it all a facade? Was the infamous psychopath masquerading as the princess, her true nature hidden beneath a carefully crafted lie?

A growl rumbled in her throat. Why did the princess, above all others, manage to burrow so deeply under her skin? Regardless, the mission, however, remained clear: capture Eydis. 

"Princess Athena isn't a lie," Indigo murmured, his fingers a blur across the keyboard. Callista's swordsmanship was a blur of grace, and Indigo's hacking skills mirrored it perfectly.

Callista exhaled a silent sigh of relief, her eyes widening briefly before quickly schooling her face. "Why are you so sure?" she asked, her voice betraying a hint of the tension that had eased from her features. Fortunately, Indigo didn't notice.

"The Watcher Council recognizes them as two separate entities," Indigo replied, lost in his work. "Both pillars of the Vampire Royalties, it wouldn't make sense for Eydis to fabricate Athena’s persona."

Nodding, the tension in Callista's features eased. "So, a lesser noble disguise is more likely? Should I expand my search beyond the purebloods?"

Indigo pressed Enter with a flourish before looking up. "Golden eyes are a telltale sign. They bleed through even the best contact lenses."

"Suspects narrowed down?" Callista whispered, her smirk widening at his startled jump.

Indigo jumped slightly at her playful tone. "Fifty nobles, thirty females..."

Callista groaned inwardly. "Can you pull up any photos you find?"

Indigo's fingers danced across the keyboard, materialising faces on the screen. Callista scrutinised them, searching for a match to the blurry vision in her mind.

"Eliminate these," she gestured towards a few photos. "She was tall and slender, not these." She paused, considering. "And these," she murmured, "Eydis was said to be breathtakingly beautiful, wasn't she?"

Indigo nodded, "Vampires were generally attractive but you're right." With a flick of his wrists, he moved the discarded photos back to the "Irrelevant" list. "Five with photos, five without. Is that manageable?"

Callista studied the remaining faces, the unfamiliar purebloods staring back at her with their piercing golden eyes. A wave of relief, laced with a faint pang of something unidentifiable, washed over her.

*****

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Callista scrolled through the crossed-out names on her phone. Each one felt like a punch to the gut. None fit. No recording matched the voice in her head - too loud, too brash, too naive for the cunning mastermind who outplayed them. Queen Eydis was a far more elusive serpent than she'd bargained for.

Only one name remained: Amelia Kruger. Blonde hair, a shade darker than the princess's, framed an alluring face partially obscured by the book shelves. A hand reached out, brushing against a figure hidden amongst the books in a gesture too familiar for comfort. Were all vampires so touchy?

Suddenly, the gentle scrape of a chair sliced through the quiet, startling Callista from her reverie. "Enjoying the view, darling?" Amelia whispered.

Callista swallowed. "Just… lost in thought," 

As if sensing Callista's scrutiny, Amelia's lips curved into a faint, knowing smile. Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Something specific, or just a general philosophical inquiry?"

An unsettling aura of power radiated from Amelia. A predator. Callista silently branded the vampire a prime suspect.

Panic surged through Callista, her mind racing for an escape route. Then, desperation forced a desperate gamble. "Actually," she blurted, "I find you fascinating."

Amelia's smile returned, but this time it held a sharp edge. She leaned closer. "Flattered, darling. You're not too hard on the eyes yourself."

A shiver of revulsion ran through Callista as Amelia traced a black-polished finger down her arm. The hunt, it seemed, had just taken a dangerous turn.

As Callista vanished amidst the library crowd, Amelia let out a satisfied hum. With a slow, deliberate drawl, she turned to address a figure emerging from the towering bookshelves.

"Now where were we?" she remarked. "Ah, seems I've piqued someone's interest."

Athena's response was swift and sharp. "Interest? Don't be ridiculous. She's..." The princess trailed off.

Straight.

Amelia's smile faltered, but she quickly recovered, her hand trailing possessively toward Athena's hip. "Intriguing,” she murmured, “is she your… new plaything?”

Instead of shying away, Athena met Amelia's touch head-on. With a swift, almost imperceptible movement, she grasped Amelia's wrist, her grip firm but effortless. 

Leaning closer, she spoke in a quiet voice, "My plaything, Amelia is not yours to question. Perhaps you should focus on the complexities of your own… purpose."

Amelia’s smile faltered. She instinctively leaned in for a kiss, the usual way to ease the tension between them. But Athena, with a subtle tilt of her head, effortlessly evaded her.

"Not today," Athena said cooly, dismissing both the kiss and Amelia herself. With a regal flick of her wrist, she turned and walked away, leaving Amelia speechless.