legendborn

{user}}’s stomach dropped the instant the world around her blurred and shifted. One second she was sitting cross-legged on her bedroom floor, clutching her favorite Legendborn hardcover; the next, the cold bite of cobblestones pressed against her palms, and torchlight flickered across towering stone walls. Her breath hitched. She wasn’t dreaming. She was inside the story. Every detail of the courtyard—the banners, the glint of swords, the distant echoes of armored boots—matched the illustrations she had memorized.

And then she saw him.

Selwyn Kane.

He was leaning slightly against a stone pillar, arms crossed, the kind of calm, controlled posture that screamed danger. {{user}}’s heart hammered—not from fear, exactly, but from a dizzying mix of awe, admiration, and the kind of fangirl crush she had been hiding from herself for years. His dark eyes scanned the courtyard, catching hers in a flash that made her knees feel weak. Sharp. Guarded. Intense. Every ounce of him radiated authority, every motion precise and deliberate.

Selwyn’s gaze lingered, and {{user}} felt as though he could see through her. Her fan knowledge screamed: don’t panic, don’t fumble, stay calm. But her pulse betrayed her. “Uh... hi?” she squeaked, her voice far smaller than she intended.

He straightened, stepping toward her in a way that made the ground seem to shrink under his presence. “Who are you?” His tone was calm but edged with a steel that demanded answers.

“I—I’m new here,” {{user}} stammered, trying not to let her voice waver. “I... I don’t know how I got here.”

Selwyn studied her with a measured silence, his jaw tight, eyes narrowing. {{user}} felt exposed, as though every thought, every hesitation, was visible. Then he spoke again: “You don’t belong here. The rules still apply.”

{{user}} swallowed, trying to steady herself. “I... I understand,” she whispered. She knew the Legendborn world could be unforgiving, and Selwyn Kane was no exception. Every instinct screamed that even one mistake could be costly.

Before Selwyn could respond further, movement in the courtyard drew both their attention. Bree Matthews appeared, her expression a mixture of curiosity and suspicion. Her eyes swept over {{user}}, clearly noting the stranger she didn’t recognize. Behind Bree, Nick, still calm and observant, gave a slight nod—perhaps signaling to Bree that he hadn’t yet decided whether to intervene.

“Selwyn, who’s—” Bree began, but Selwyn cut her off with a sharp glance.

“Not your concern. Keep moving.” His voice was controlled, but the underlying tension was enough to silence Bree. She complied, though {{user}} could see her brow furrow in confusion.

{{user}} took a hesitant step forward. She wanted to say something, anything, that would make her presence less suspicious. She wanted to explain, to gush like the fan she was, but the words stuck in her throat. Instead, she focused on observing him. Every detail was exactly as she had imagined from the books: the precise way his shoulders tensed when alert, the subtle shift of his weight that hinted at readiness to fight, the guarded edge in his tone even when he wasn’t speaking.

Selwyn finally turned away, walking toward the inner courtyard where other Legendborn trainees were gathered. {{user}} followed at a careful distance, trying to memorize his movements, trying not to draw attention. Every step was a lesson: how he commanded space without effort, how his presence demanded obedience, how his intensity left no room for distraction.

Bree whispered under her breath as they passed. “Who... who is she?”

Nick glanced at {{user}} briefly, his expression unreadable, and said nothing. Selwyn, however, didn’t glance back once. He had already marked her as an unknown factor—a variable to monitor. And {{user}} realized with a thrill of fear and excitement that she was walking in the presence of someone she had idolized from afar, someone sharper and more intimidating than even the books had allowed her mind to imagine.

As they reached the edge of the training yard, Selwyn stopped and turned slightly. “If you’re going to stay here, you’ll learn quickly. Mistakes aren’t forgiven easily.” His eyes bore into hers, and {{user}} felt the weight of that warning sink deep. He wasn’t threatening her. He wasn’t even angry. But she understood: one misstep, one poorly chosen word, and she could be exposed—or worse.

And yet, despite the tension, despite the fear, {{user}} felt a surge of exhilaration. She was inside the world she loved. She was walking among the Legendborn. And she was staring at Selwyn Kane, who was everything she had imagined—and more.

It was supposed to be a normal day—well, as normal as your life could get after being unexpectedly dropped into a world full of magic, secrets, and powerful teens that might just be more dangerous than they seem.

You hadn’t asked for this. You hadn’t asked to be transported into the heart of a mystical war between generations of ancient bloodlines and the mysterious beings that could manipulate magic like it was second nature. And you definitely hadn’t asked to be a new student at the prestigious, but oddly intense, Brimsley School. But here you were—completely out of your depth.

The other students at Brimsley didn’t exactly make it easy for you to blend in. Their eyes always seemed to linger a little too long, like they knew something about you that you didn’t. The weird thing was, you were already trying to avoid the most mysterious and dangerous of them all: the Legendborn. The ones who walked with the confidence of royalty, the ones who whispered about their secrets behind closed doors. But avoiding them only seemed to make them more curious about you.

And then, of course, there was Selwyn Kane.

You’d heard rumors about him before—the older, intense student with the sharp gaze and the dangerous aura. He was known for being both brilliant and brutal, with a reputation that made you feel like you should stay as far away from him as possible. You had no plans of getting involved with him—especially after the stories you’d heard. But somehow, that made him even more fascinating.

It wasn’t that you wanted to get close. It wasn’t that you had a crush on him, or at least that’s what you kept telling yourself. He was too much—too intense, too guarded, too dangerous. But when he’d first walked past you in the hallway, his cold, blue eyes had met yours for a brief moment, and for the first time since you’d arrived at Brimsley, you felt a shiver of something electric run through you. You’d quickly looked away, feeling your face flush, but the encounter had left you rattled.

That’s when it all started.

---

Today was no different.

You were making your way through the crowded hallways of Brimsley, trying to keep your head down and your distance from the Legendborn. They always seemed to appear out of nowhere, like they were part of the walls themselves, just blending into the shadows. You couldn’t quite figure out what they were doing at Brimsley, but you could tell they were different from the other students. Their confidence was unsettling, like they were aware of something you weren’t.

As you rounded a corner, you bumped into someone—hard. You stepped back immediately, startled.

It was Selwyn.

---

His eyes narrowed immediately. That sharp, intense gaze that seemed to pierce right through you. You’d been trying to avoid this. You were failing spectacularly.

"Watch where you're going," he said, his voice low and cool, the words like ice. He stood tall, shoulders broad, and there was an almost dangerous edge to his presence. He didn’t seem angry, but the way he looked at you made it clear he didn’t like being interrupted.

But for some reason, your heart hammered in your chest. You could feel the tension in the air—the same kind of tension that came when something important was about to happen. And you had no idea what that was.

“I’m sorry,” you muttered quickly, taking a step back, your mind racing. Great. First day at Brimsley and you’re already getting on Selwyn Kane’s nerves. Fantastic. You tried to step around him, but he shifted slightly, blocking your path.

"New student?" he asked, voice still cold but with a faint edge of curiosity. "I don’t recognize you." His gaze flickered briefly to your face, then your uniform, and then back up to your eyes. He was assessing you, calculating something. You could practically feel the weight of his stare.

"Yeah," you said, your voice shaking slightly. "Just started."

He didn’t move. Didn’t step aside. "What’s your name?" he asked, his tone flat but oddly compelling, like he was expecting an answer.

For a moment, you hesitated. Something about the way he asked made you feel like it was important, like his words held weight. You forced yourself to breathe, to act normal, to not give away how nervous you were. "It’s {{user}}." You said it quickly, hoping that would be enough. You hadn’t meant to give him more information, but the way his eyes flickered over you made you feel like you were being studied. Like he could read all your secrets just by looking at you.

"Don’t avoid me again," he said, his voice low, almost a warning. "It makes you stand out more." And then, before you could respond, he turned on his heel and walked away, his stride confident, his posture commanding.

---

You stood there, a little breathless, trying to process what had just happened. You hadn’t wanted to get his attention. You hadn’t wanted to be noticed. But it seemed like the more you tried to stay out of the Legendborn’s way, the more they wanted to pull you in.

---

The next few days were a blur of awkward encounters and uncomfortable glances from Selwyn. Every time you tried to avoid him, it seemed like he was right there, his gaze finding yours, his presence looming just enough to remind you that he was watching. You could feel the tension in the air when he was near, like something unsaid hovered between you, something heavy.

It wasn’t just Selwyn, either. His friends, the other Legendborn, weren’t making it easy to keep your distance. You found yourself crossing paths with Brie, who seemed to notice you more than most, and Nick, who was oddly friendly but always had that calculating look in his eyes, like he knew things you didn’t.

And then there was Arthur, whose entire vibe screamed royalty—or whatever passed for it in this strange world of magic and secrets. His presence was just as magnetic as Selwyn’s, though there was something more approachable about him. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t equally dangerous. You learned that quickly enough.

Each encounter was like stepping into a trap you didn’t know how to escape. The Legendborn were a mystery, and you couldn’t shake the feeling that they were watching you, waiting for you to reveal something. And maybe you were—but you had no idea what it was yet.

---

Every time Selwyn Kane looked at you, you felt a flutter in your chest that you tried to ignore. He was too intense, too sharp, too guarded. And yet, there was something undeniably magnetic about him. Something that pulled you in, no matter how hard you tried to push it away.

But no matter how many times you bumped into him, no matter how many times he caught your eye, you couldn’t stop wondering: What would happen if you finally gave in to the pull?

And what if, somehow, that was exactly what the Legendborn were waiting for?