Zane ran as fast as he could to the girls' dorm. By the time he got to their room, the door was slightly ajar.
Relief flooded him instantly. Maybe Avelyn was inside.
"Avelyn?" he called, knocking lightly. "Can I come in?"
No response.
He pushed the door open slowly. The room was empty.
Zane stepped inside anyway. Everything was neat, too neat. Beds made. No signs of struggle. No panic. He checked the bathroom next. Still nothing.
His chest tightened.
He left the girls' dorm and headed straight for the boys' dorm. That was where he found Karl, Mirabel, and another classmate hanging around.
"Hey, Zane," Karl greeted.
"Have you seen Cole?" Zane asked immediately.
Karl shook his head. "No."
"He's always with Avelyn," Mirabel muttered. "Still pissed they won't let me see her."
"They're missing," Zane said.
"What?" Mirabel and Karl said at the same time.
"They're not in the infirmary or their dorms," Zane added.
"Cole is missing?" the third guy asked, frowning.
"That's not what he meant, Williams," Karl snapped. "Cole isn't missing missing. We have to go."
"What do we do?" Mirabel asked, panic creeping into her voice as they walked off.
....Unknown location.....
Avelyn woke up with a sharp inhale, like she had been drowning and someone finally pulled her out.
Her head throbbed. Not the normal headache type, but deep, buzzing, like something was humming inside her skull.
She sat up too fast and instantly regretted it.
"Okay… nope," she muttered, squeezing her eyes shut. "Definitely not okay."
The room wasn't the infirmary. That was the first thing she noticed. No white walls. No faint smell of antiseptic. This place smelled like herbs, smoke, and something metallic. Candles lined the walls, some floating, some melting onto random surfaces like nobody cared about the mess.
"What the hell…" she whispered.
She swung her legs off the bed and stood up, wobbling slightly.
"Lilian?" Her voice echoed weirdly. "Cole?"
No answer.
Panic crept in slowly, the annoying kind that starts small and then grows teeth.
"Okay, this is not funny," she said louder. "If this is some stupid school thing, I'm not amused."
"The sleeping princess finally wakes."
Avelyn spun around so fast she almost tripped.
A boy leaned against the far wall, arms crossed, looking way too relaxed for someone who had apparently kidnapped her. Blond hair. Familiar face. Too familiar.
"Who are you," she demanded.
The boy smiled. Soft. Sad. Wrong.
"You know me, Astra."
Her stomach dropped.
"Don't call me that," she snapped. "My name is Avelyn."
He pushed himself off the wall and took a step closer. "You always say that at first."
"Take another step and I'll scream," she warned.
He stopped. Chuckled.
"You always threaten that too."
"Okay," she said, breathing hard. "That's creepy. Who are you and where is Lilian."
His expression flickered at that name.
"She's alive," he said carefully.
Avelyn felt her knees go weak with relief. "Where is she."
"Safe. For now."
"For now?" Avelyn echoed. "What does that mean."
"You ask too many questions," he said, like he wasn't the one talking nonsense.
"And you give zero answers," she shot back. "Funny how that works."
He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "You really don't remember anything."
"I remember being in the infirmary," she said slowly. "I remember pain. I remember screaming. And then nothing. So unless you plan on explaining why I woke up in some haunted Pinterest board, start talking."
Silence stretched between them.
Then he said quietly, "I'm Atlas."
She laughed. She actually laughed.
"Yeah, okay," she said. "And I'm Beyoncé."
"Astra," he repeated, stepping closer again. "Look at me."
"No."
"Look at me."
She did. And the second their eyes met, something twisted in her chest. Not fear. Not pain. Recognition. Like hearing a song she didn't remember learning but somehow knew all the words to.
Her head screamed.
She staggered back, grabbing the bed for support. "Stop doing that. Stop whatever you're doing."
"I'm not doing anything," Atlas said quickly. "This is you. You're feeling it."
"Feeling what," she snapped. "Because all I feel is pissed off."
He smiled again, softer this time. "Still stubborn."
"I swear to God," she said, pointing at him. "If you don't explain yourself right now, I will find a way out of here and you will regret it."
"You always threaten violence before understanding," he said fondly.
That did it.
"What do you mean always," she yelled. "I don't know you."
"Yes you do."
"No I don't."
"You're lying."
"I am not."
"You're just not remembering."
"Stop," she said, clutching her head. "Just stop."
He watched her for a long moment, then nodded. "Okay. Then I won't talk to you."
"Good."
"I'll talk to your soul instead."
Before she could react, the air shifted.
Cold rushed through her body like someone opened a door inside her chest.
Avelyn gasped.
Suddenly, she wasn't standing anymore.
She was floating.
Looking down.
At herself.
"What the fuck," she whispered.
Her body stood frozen below, eyes empty, breathing steady like nothing was wrong.
"Nope," she said. "Nope nope nope."
"Astra," a voice said behind her, bright and warm.
She turned.
And she knew.
"Oh my God," Astra breathed. "Atlas."
They crashed into each other, hugging so tightly it hurt.
"I missed you," Astra said, laughing and crying at the same time. "I missed you so much."
"I found you again," Atlas said, voice breaking. "I always do."
From somewhere far away, Avelyn screamed.
"Get me back in my body right now."
Astra winced. "She's loud."
"Put me back," Astra said. "You know I hate this part."
Atlas nodded, lifting his hand. "Just for a bit. We need to talk."
Astra hesitated. "The other girl is she..."
"She's alive," he said. "Barely."
Astra swallowed. "And the boy?."
Atlas didn't answer.
"Atlas," she said sharply.
He looked away.
"Put me back," Astra said again. "Now."
The world snapped.
Avelyn crashed back into her body, gasping for air.
She looked up at Atlas, eyes burning.
"You better start explaining," she said hoarsely. "Everything."
Atlas met her gaze.
"We don't have much time," he said.
And that was when Avelyn knew.
Whatever this was, whatever she had just remembered, her life was officially ruined or so she thought.