The corridors of Blackthorn Academy felt different at night — like the walls were listening.
Lena crept toward Ava's room, still thinking about Jax's cryptic words from earlier.
"You heard it too."
The scream hadn't been her imagination. She knew it. Something was wrong at Blackthorn. And not just with the power or the weird rules. Something deeper.
She knocked on Ava's door. It creaked open instantly.
Ava stood in leggings and an oversized hoodie, eyes wide. "You heard it too, didn't you?"
Lena nodded. "It wasn't just some stupid prank."
Ava's voice dropped. "There's talk in the hall. Some of the older students… they're saying this isn't the first time someone's gone missing."
Lena frowned. "Gone?"
Ava just nodded, pale. "Three years ago. A girl vanished during midterms. They said she transferred. But her roommate swore she saw her walk into the north wing... and never come out."
Before Lena could reply, a loud bang echoed down the hallway.
Then a scream — not distant this time.
Close. Real.
They both rushed out of the room and followed the sound toward the west staircase.
That's when they saw him.
A boy — maybe sixteen — stumbling in the hall, arms twitching unnaturally, eyes white and leaking something black. His skin was pale, and he moved like his joints were made of broken glass.
He wasn't screaming.
He was snarling.
Students backed away in horror. One boy tried to approach — "Are you okay, man?" — but the infected student lunged, jaws snapping, nails clawing like talons.
Panic exploded.
A girl tripped. Another screamed for a teacher. Lena froze, instinctively pulling Ava behind her, even though she had no idea what to do.
And then… everything stopped.
The air shimmered.
The infected boy flew backward as if yanked by invisible strings, crashing into the stone wall and slumping unconscious.
Everyone turned.
At the end of the hallway stood a girl with silver hair and glowing violet eyes — tall, expression unreadable, a long cloak swirling around her boots.
Not human.
Lena's breath caught.
Whispers spread like wildfire.
"She's a banshee."
"No — she's a shadow elf."
"Did you see her magic?"
The girl — whoever she was — turned slowly toward Headmaster Hermond, who had just arrived, flanked by two guards.
His face was hard to read. Too calm. Too late.
"We'll take care of him," he said flatly, glancing at the twitching boy being restrained by the guards. "You're all dismissed. Go back to your dorms. Curfew is in effect."
No one moved.
"Now."
His voice dropped like a hammer, heavy with power. Even the banshee girl — or whatever she was — lowered her eyes and vanished into the crowd.
Lena's legs moved without her mind deciding. Ava grabbed her hand. No one spoke as they returned to the dorm wing.
Only once they were back in her room did Lena whisper, "That wasn't a virus."
Ava was shaking. "He looked like he was dead already."
"He was. He was a zombie."
Ava looked up at her sharply. "That's not possible."
Lena stared at the wall.
"I don't think anything is impossible at Blackthorn."
Far beneath the school, in a chamber hidden behind a false wall, Principal Hermond stood before a large screen, watching the footage from the hallway.
The guards behind him stayed silent.
"That one was unstable," Hermond muttered, folding his hands behind his back. "Release subject A3 tomorrow. I want to test how the fae respond."
"But sir… that student was human."
Hermond's lips curled into a smile.
"Exactly."