Morning didn't arrive all at once.
It slipped in quietly, light slipping through the narrow space between the curtains and the window frame. The academy woke up bit by bit, doors opening, footsteps in the hall, the distant sound of voices rising and falling like a tide.
Kade woke before the bell.
His eyes opened sharply, his breath was already shallow, as if his body had decided there was no point pretending like rest was possible. The dream came to him. Not images just movement. The sense of ground passing beneath him too fast. The sound of air hitting his ears with the full force.
He lay his back, staring at the ceiling.
Nothing whispered his name.
That alone felt really strange.
He sat up slowly and rubbed his hands together. They looked normal. Felt normal. No pressure under the skin. No pull.
But the quiet felt wrong.
Outside, the campus looked harmless in daylight. Students crossed the courtyard with backpacks hanging over their shoulders. Someone laughed near the fountain. A group gathered around a notice board, arguing about schedules.
Kade stood by the window longer than necessary observing the environment
He didn't like how everything in the academy easily slipped back into routine.
He left the window to take his bath
After bathing he dressed up for school
He made coffee and drank a little while stirring back at the window
Suddenly
A knock came at his door.
He didn't jump this time.
"Kade."
Mira.
He opened it.
She stood there already dressed, hair tied back, eyes looking sharp. She looked like she'd slept even less than he had.
"You okay?" she asked.
"For now."
She nodded. "Good. We're not waiting."
"For what?"
"For it to get worse."
They walked together down the hall, keeping their voices low. Other students passed them without even talking a second glance.
"Whatever you felt last night," Mira said, "it wasn't just random."
"I know."
"It was testing something."
Kade frowned. "Testing me?"
"Testing the boundary," she corrected. "Seeing how close it could get."
They reached the stairwell. Mira didn't slow.
"Where are we going?" he asked.
"Somewhere the academy doesn't want us," she said. "But not the West Wing."
"That narrows it down a lot."
She gave a faint smile. "You'll see."
They went across the campus instead of heading toward class. The further they walked, the fewer students they passed. Buildings gave way to trees, paths thinning into worn out tracks
A small structure came into view ahead a stone, half covered in ivy.
"That's not on the map," Kade said.
"No," Mira replied. "Because it's not supposed to exist anymore."
The door was old but unlocked. Inside, the air reeked the smell of stone and dust. Shelves lined the walls, mostly empty. A few crates sat in the corners, sealed and untouched.
"This used to be part of the academy," Mira said. "Before the expansion."
Kade ran his fingers along the wall. The stone felt familiar and that alone made his chest heavy
"What happened here?" he asked.
"Officially?" She shrugged her shoulder "Structural damage. Unofficially?"
She stopped in front of a rusted metal cabinet and pulled it open.
"Disappearances," she said.
Inside were files. Old. Yellowed. Names written in Gothic handwriting.
Kade scanned them.
Too many.
"These dates" he said. "They go way back decades."
"Longer," Mira said. "The academy didn't start hiding things recently. They just got better at it."
Kade's head began to ache again not sharp, just shallow along the upper part of his head
"This place," he said slowly. "It's like a blind spot."
Mira watched him closely. "What do you mean?"
"I can't feel it watching me," he said. "Whatever it is. It's quieter here."
She nodded. "That's why Evan came."
Kade turned. "He was here?"
"Multiple times," she said. "According to his notes."
She pulled out a thin notebook from her bag and opened it. Evan's handwriting filled the pages, rushed but neat
< It doesn't follow.
Something about the stone interferes.
Kade pressed his palm against the wall again.
The pressure eased.
Mira noticed. "You feel it."
"Yes."
She let out a slow breath. "Then this is where we start."
A sudden sound echoed outside.
Footsteps.
Both of them froze.
Voices followed. Adult voices
Mira said under her breath. "They shouldn't be this far out."
"Who?" Kade asked.
She didn't answer. She grabbed his wrist and pulled him toward the back of the structure.
They slipped through a narrow doorway just as the front door came open.
"i've checked the dorms already," a voice said. "He's not there."
"And her?" another asked.
"Too careful."
Kade's heart pounded heavily. He focused on Mira's grip. Solid. Real.
They waited.
Minutes stretched.
Then silence.
When Mira finally relaxed, she exhaled shakily. "They're searching."
"For me," Kade said.
"For both of us now," she replied.
They left the structure through a different exit, rushing back toward campus through the trees.
Neither spoke until the academy buildings came into site.
"I don't think they want to stop what's happening," Kade said quietly. "I think they're trying to control it."
Mira nodded. "That's worse."
Classes passed in a blur.
Kade sat through lectures without hearing most of them. His senses kept pulling outward toward movement, sound, patterns no one else noticed.
A pencil dropped three rows away from him. He reacted before it hit the floor.
A door slammed somewhere down the hall. His muscles tensed automatically.
By afternoon, the pressure returned. Subtle. Slowly
He met Mira outside the library.
"You feel it again," she said immediately.
"Yes."
She didn't hesitate. "We don't go inside."
"Why?"
"Because whatever's pushing at you is closer now."
They walked instead. Around the edges of campus. Staying visible.
The sun was already west, ready to set
Shadows stretched.
As they neared the treeline again, Kade slowed.
"Mira."
She followed his gaze.
A figure stood between the trees.
Too tall. Too still.
It didn't move as they watched.
"It's not hiding anymore," Kade whispered.
Mira's jaw tightened. "It's marking territory."
The figure shifted slightly.
Kade felt the pull surge. Stronger than before. His breath failed a little like he was deprived of it for a second
Mira stepped closer to him without thinking. Their shoulders rubbed against each other.
"Focus," she said quietly. "Stay here."
"I'm trying."
The figure stepped forward.
Just one step.
The pressure spiked.
Kade's vision blurred. His heart pounding against his rib cage
"No," Mira said firmly. "Not today."
She reached into her pocket and pulled out something small. Metal. Sharp-edged.
She threw it, not at the figure, but at the ground between them.
The object hit a stone with a sharp crack.
The figure froze.
Then, slowly, it moved back Into the trees.
The pull snapped.
Kade staggered, catching himself on the railing.
Mira grabbed him. "Hey. Stay with me."
He nodded weakly. "What did you throw?"
She opened her hand.
A broken piece of stone. Carved with the same symbol as the academy gate.
"The boundary marker," she said. "They still work. Barely."
Kade stared at the treeline.
"That thing isn't me," he said.
"No," Mira replied. "But it wants you."
They stood there until the light faded completely.
Neither of them spoke about what would happen when the boundaries failed.
They both knew it was coming.
And somewhere deep inside Kade, something listened.
And waited.