The bell rang, sharp and final, echoing down Blackwood Academy's corridors like a warning.
Elias lingered at his desk long after the room emptied. He waited for the familiar rush of noise to fade for the building to settle. Nights were worse. The school breathed differently when the sun went down.
"Running from me won't work," a voice said softly.
He looked up.
Mara stood in the doorway, backpack slung over one shoulder, eyes reflecting the dim hallway lights. She didn't step inside. She didn't have to. Her presence alone shifted something in the air.
"I wasn't running," Elias said.
She raised an eyebrow. "You told me to stay away."
"And you didn't listen."
A corner of her mouth lifted. "You noticed."
That unsettled him more than he cared to admit.
They walked together without deciding to. Down the long corridor, past locked classrooms and portraits whose eyes followed them with unsettling interest. Elias felt the hum again stronger now, reacting to her closeness.
"You feel it more at night," Mara said.
It wasn't a question.
"Yes."
"What is it?"
Elias stopped.
The lights above them flickered not violently, but deliberately. The air thickened, as if the school itself leaned closer to listen.
"I don't know," he admitted. "I just know it responds when I lose control."
Mara's gaze softened. "Then don't lose control."
He let out a quiet, humorless breath. "I've been trying that my whole life."
They reached the old staircase the one students avoided because it led to a wing officially marked Closed for Renovation. The sign was new. The door behind it was not.
Mara's fingers brushed his sleeve as she turned toward him. The contact was brief, accidental but Elias felt it like a spark under his skin.
She noticed.
Their eyes met, and for a moment the hum disappeared entirely.
"I think the school reacts to you," she said slowly. "Like it recognizes something."
"That's impossible."
"Is it?" she asked. "Blackwood doesn't feel like a normal building. You know that."
He did. He'd always known.
A distant creak echoed from beyond the closed door, like a step where no one stood.
Mara didn't flinch.
"Whatever this is," she said, quieter now, "you don't have to face it alone."
Elias swallowed. He wasn't used to being offered things—especially understanding.
"Why do you care?" he asked.
She hesitated, just a second. "Because when the lights flickered… I felt like the world was holding its breath."
The door behind them clicked.
Unlocked.
Elias stared at it, heart pounding.
The school had made a choice.
And somehow, so had he.
"Tomorrow," he said, voice steady despite the storm inside him. "Meet me here after last period."
Mara smiled—not triumphant, not relieved. Just certain.
"I'll be here."
As they parted ways, Elias felt it again the low, ancient hum, no longer threatening.
Waiting.
*End of chapter two *