Page 1 of Phantom Flower

Chapter 1

Rei Kurosaki

It had been one year.

One painful year since they had buried my dad in the cold ground and my whole life had been ripped apart. One year since I had been torn away from cherry blossom mornings and dumped into this loud concrete city that never sleeps. A city that never let you forget how small and weak you were.

I hated New York.

I hated the noise, the giant buildings that blocked out the sky, and all the loud people who always seemed to smile.

In Japan, things had felt organized.

Here, everything had moved too fast, like the city was constantly trying to outrun itself. People had walked around like sharks, always sizing you up and figuring out how much they could take from you.

But I had gotten used to it. I had learned to walk these streets with my head held high and that black flower tucked behind my ear like a shield.

The one wound I couldn’t cauterize was Daniel Walker.

My mother’s husband.

The American snake who had sunk his fangs into her grief six months after my father’s death. I saw the way he looked at our money and the Kurosaki name, like it was already his. He called me “son,” and every time it made me want to smash that fake smile off his face. He was living in the world my father had built and touching my mother like he had earned the right.

This morning I got out of the house before I had to see his fake-dad grin. I grabbed my bag and slipped out like a shadow. Still, I heard my mom laugh softly somewhere inside.

When I finally stepped out onto the Manhattan streets, the cold air slapped me in the face and woke me up.

I pulled my coat tighter and started walking.

Bloodburn Academy sat on the Upper East Side like some private kingdom for billionaire kids. And yeah, that was exactly what it was. The place looked more like a fancy museum than a school. Most students showed up in expensive cars with drivers who waited outside all day.

Money was everything here.

Everyone knew exactly how much everyone else had.

The second I stepped into the main hallway, the warmth hit me.

“Rei…” A soft voice said my name, then gentle arms wrapped around my waist from the side. “You’re here. I was worried you’d skip again.”

Marco Bellini was my only real light in this place full of vultures.

He pulled back. His dark curls were messy over his forehead even with that little black ribbon he always wore. Marco was pure sunshine. He had big hazel eyes, a soft smile that could melt ice, and a gentleness that made him look like he belonged in a fairytale, not this cutthroat school. He was here on scholarship, smart as hell in a sea of spoiled assholes, and he got scared way too easily. It hurt my chest every time.

Especially when it came to them.

I ruffled his hair. “I’m fine, Marco. Just another morning avoiding the parasite at home.”

He smiled shyly and looked down, but his fingers kept twisting the strap of his bag.

“You look tired. Did you sleep? You can text me if… if it’s bad again.”

His worry was real, and it was so damn cute it cracked the ice around my heart a little. Marco was the only person who saw the real broken parts under my armor and didn’t try to use them against me.

We started walking down the hallway together while other students moved around us. I changed the subject.

“What do we have first?” I asked.

“Economics,” he mumbled. “I hate that class.”