Olivia's POV
The boat is sinking.
Not really sinking, but it feels like it. Every wave that hits the side makes my stomach flip. I grip the railing so hard my knuckles turn white. Other students laugh and chat like this is nothing. Like riding a boat to a magical school on a creepy island is just another Tuesday.
A girl with perfect blonde hair floats past me. Actually floats. Her feet are two inches off the deck. She doesn't even notice. Her friends giggle and levitate their designer luggage behind them like it's a game.
I look down at my one small bag. Everything I own fits inside. Three uniforms from the scholarship program. One pair of shoes. A photo of my mom before she died. That's it.
"First years, prepare to dock!" a voice booms.
The island appears through the fog. My breath catches. Thornwick Academy rises from the rocks like something from a nightmare. Stone towers stretch into the clouds. Parts of the castle look ancient, with gargoyles and narrow windows. But other sections glow with blue lights and glass walls that don't belong on an old building. It's like someone smashed the past and future together and hoped it would work.
It doesn't look welcoming. It looks like a prison.
The boat bumps against the dock. Rich kids rush off, their magical luggage following them. I wait until everyone else leaves. No point getting trampled.
"Move it, charity case," a boy mutters as he shoves past me.
My face burns but I don't respond. I learned that lesson at my old school. Fighting back just makes it worse.
I step onto the dock. The wood creaks under my feet. Ahead, a huge stone archway leads into the castle. Professors in dark robes stand on either side, holding strange glowing devices.
"Single file! Mandatory magic scanning!" one shouts.
My heart pounds. This is it. The moment they realize I don't belong here.
The line moves fast. Each student steps up to a professor who waves the device over them. Numbers appear in the air above their heads. I see "Level 5" over the floating blonde girl. "Level 6" over a muscular boy. Everyone seems to be between Level 4 and Level 7.
Then it's my turn.
The professor is old with a long gray beard. He looks bored until he waves his device at me. His eyes widen. He waves it again.
"Well?" another professor asks.
"Null-Spark," the bearded professor says loudly.
Students nearby laugh. Someone whispers, "How did she even get in?"
"Scholarship student," the professor mutters, checking his tablet. "Olivia Hart. Remedial track. Dormitory Six."
More laughter. I want to disappear.
"Move along," he says, not looking at me anymore.
I grab my bag and rush through the archway. My eyes sting but I refuse to cry. Not here. Not in front of them.
Inside, the castle is even stranger. The hallway has stone walls but holographic signs float in the air, pointing to different sections. "Advanced Combat Arena - Level 8+ Only." "Quantum Magic Lab - Authorized Personnel." "Remedial Classes - Basement Level."
Of course the remedial classes are in the basement.
A student assistant, a bored-looking older girl, grabs my arm. "You Hart?"
"Yes."
"Follow me. Try to keep up."
She walks fast through a maze of corridors. We pass rooms where students are already practicing magic. Fire dances above their palms. Objects float in circles. One kid turns invisible and his friends clap.
I can barely make a spark.
We reach the oldest part of the castle. The walls here are crumbling. The lights flicker. Other students in this hallway look as miserable as I feel.
"Dormitory Six. Top floor. Room twelve," the assistant says. She hands me a key made of old iron. "Dinner is at six. Don't be late. Don't cause trouble." She leaves before I can ask any questions.
I climb the spiral staircase. It goes up and up and up. By the time I reach the top floor, my legs ache. The hallway is narrow and dark. Doors line both sides. I hear crying from one room. Angry shouting from another.
Room twelve is at the very end.
I unlock the door. The room is tiny. A bed with a thin blanket. A desk with three legs and a book propping up the fourth. A window so dirty I can barely see through it. The walls are gray stone. It's freezing cold.
This is my home for the next year.
I sit on the bed. The mattress is lumpy. I pull out the photo of my mom and set it on the crooked desk. "I made it, Mom," I whisper. "I got out like you wanted."
Got out of that house. Away from my stepfather and his anger and his fists. The scholarship saved me. Even if everyone here hates me, it's better than there.
I unpack my three uniforms and hang them in the closet. I'm putting away my shoes when I notice something.
The wall next to the closet looks wrong.
I run my hand over the stone. It's warm. The other walls are freezing, but this one is warm. I press harder and feel something underneath. Like a heartbeat.
Thump-thump. Thump-thump.
I jump back. Walls don't have heartbeats.
I must be imagining it. I'm tired and stressed and—
The wall glows.
Just for a second, symbols appear in the stone. Strange writing I don't recognize. Then they vanish.
My heart races. I look around but I'm alone. Did that really happen?
I reach out to touch the wall again.
The door to my room slams open.
I spin around. A woman stands in the doorway. She's tall and thin, wearing a black suit that looks too modern for this ancient castle. Her hair is pulled back so tight it makes her face look sharp. Her eyes are ice cold.
"Olivia Hart," she says. It's not a question.
"Y-yes?"
"I am Director Thorne. Headmaster of Thornwick Academy." She steps inside without being invited. Her eyes scan my tiny room with disgust. Then they land on me. "I wanted to meet our scholarship student personally."
"Oh. Thank you, I'm honored to—"
"You shouldn't be here," she says quietly.
My blood turns cold. "What?"
Director Thorne walks closer. Too close. I can smell her perfume, sharp and chemical. "Your magic levels are the lowest I've ever seen. You have no family connections. No money. No power." She tilts her head. "Tell me, Olivia. Why do you think we accepted you?"
I can't breathe. "The scholarship committee said—"
"I don't care what they said." Her voice is like ice. "There are forces at work in this academy that you cannot begin to understand. Stay out of restricted areas. Don't ask questions. Keep your head down."
She turns to leave. Then she pauses at the door and looks back at me. Her expression changes to something I can't read. Fear? No. That doesn't make sense.
"And Olivia? Stay away from the North Tower. Students who go there..." She trails off. "Let's just say they don't come back the same."
She leaves. The door clicks shut.
I stand frozen in the middle of my tiny room. My whole body shakes.
What just happened? Why would the Headmaster come to warn me personally? What's in the North Tower?
I look at the warm wall again. The symbols are gone but I know what I saw.
Something is very wrong with Thornwick Academy.
And somehow, I'm part of it.