Evaline:
The hallway was quiet when I arrived outside Professor Kieran’s office. Too quiet.
The lights overhead flickered once, casting long, strange shadows on the polished floor. I hesitated before raising my hand to knock, but I didn’t need to. The door burst open before I could touch it.
Kieran stepped out. And for once, his usual composed gait was replaced by hurried strides. His expression was sharp and tense and it took me a second to register it.
Kieran Thorne, the man known for his stone-faced calm and unshakable authority, was actually looking... rattled.
That alone sent a spike of alarm through me.
"Professor?" I asked quickly, my instinct overriding hesitation. "What’s going on?"
He didn’t respond right away. His eyes flicked over me as if assessing something, and then, without a word, he turned sharply and started walking away.
I blinked. "Wait-what?"
"Follow me," he said abruptly, and his tone was more commanding than inviting. "Now."
There was no time to question him. He was already halfway down the corridor, walking at a pace that demanded obedience. Confusion twisted in my chest, but I hurried after him, keeping close behind as we turned away from the familiar paths of the Academy.
With every step we took, the surroundings were growing dimmer.
We moved through back corridors and narrow halls I had never seen before. Here, the lanterns were sparse, their glow faint and flickering, barely illuminating the cold stone walls. Soon, even the silence began to feel heavy. Each stair creaked beneath our feet as we descended deeper and deeper into the hidden spine of the Academy.
I wasn’t sure how long we walked - five minutes? Ten? More? - but I knew we were no longer in any place the average students could access. The air grew colder. Thicker. I was able to feel something powerful clinging to the stones down here. Almost like a whisper of something forbidden.
And yet, Kieran was moving like he belonged here.
Which only confirmed my growing suspicion... this place was hidden for a reason, and he was one of the few who had the right to be here.
Eventually, the claustrophobic halls opened into a modestly sized stone chamber which was looking like a common room, if you could call it that. A single lantern was burning in the corner, casting just enough light to reveal an old table, worn chairs, and a hallway stretching into deeper darkness beyond.
We had to be underground. Far underground.
I wanted to ask where we were and what this place was, but one glance at Kieran silenced me. Whatever this was, whatever had shaken him, he wasn’t ready to talk. Not yet. His jaw was set and his eyes were burning with purpose.
So I followed, silent, letting my curiosity simmer under the surface.
He led me through another door and into a quieter room. It was warmer than the hall, almost eerily so. And inside, there were three people.
One of them was unconscious, or just sleeping, I couldn’t tell at first. He was laying motionless on a small cot against the wall, and his chest was barely rising.
The second was a woman standing beside him with her fingers gently pressing over his pulse point. She was wearing a fitted uniform with a dark green sleeve badge that immediately caught my eye. It was a crescent symbol with vines and a single drop of water in the center.
She was a healer.
I realized then - that young man wasn’t sleeping. He was injured.
My stomach turned, but I didn’t let it show on my face.
The third person, a tall man in his late twenties or early thirties, was standing near the door with arms crossed and eyes sharp. His gaze locked onto mine the second I entered.
"Alpha?" he asked, addressing Kieran. "Who’s this?"
Alpha.
I knew immediately that this man wasn’t a part of the faculty. That title didn’t belong in Academy walls. This man was one of his. One of Kieran’s outside personal men. Which meant... we were definitely nowhere students were meant to be.
Kieran didn’t answer him directly. He didn’t even glance my way. "It’s alright," he replied simply right before adding, "She’s one of mine."
It took too much for me to keep a straight face and not react at that. I knew I was overthinking, but the way he said it - She’s one of mine - did something to me, something I didn’t want to think about.
I swallowed hard and kept my hands at my sides, trying not to fidget as my gaze flicked back to the man on the bed. His complexion was pale. There were faint bruises blooming along his jaw and neck.
Kieran moved closer, his expression dark. "Status?"
The healer didn’t look up. Her hand was hovering over the injured man’s chest and a gentle pulse of soft blue light was glowing from her fingers.
"He’s gone," she said flatly. "Just like the student."
I flinched. "What?"
It came out before I could stop it.
Gone?
The healer glanced at me, then at Kieran, silently asking if she could speak more freely. And he gave a single nod.
"Whatever affected the last student... it hit this one the same way," she said quietly, removing her hand. "It’s not a typical wound. Not poison, not a spell, not even a curse. It’s something else entirely."
"A draining," the other man muttered from near the door. "Like something... took him from the inside out."
"But how?" Kieran asked under his breath, though it felt more like he was talking to himself. "No one is supposed to be able to breach the lower wards."
"I checked the seals," the third guy replied. "They were intact."
Silence settled in the room like a thick fog.
I didn’t move. I didn’t even breathe too loudly.
What student? What happened before?
And what was this place?
But I didn’t ask. I couldn’t.
This wasn’t the time, and judging by Kieran’s face... this was just the beginning of something worse.