The light tore through the chamber like a living thing, spilling upward in great coils that twisted into the shape of the Eye. Eli’s skin burned where the fragments of the cubes still clung to him, glowing faintly as if they refused to let go. The air was no longer air—it was heat and vibration, a storm of sound and pressure that made his bones feel hollow. Lena clutched him tighter, her arms anchoring him even as the ground beneath them split wider, stones shearing off into the abyss below.The Watchers writhed where they knelt, their masks cracking and shattering. From beneath the porcelain shards came not faces but shadow, their forms unraveling into streams of black smoke that the Eye drank hungrily. Their chanting devolved into screams that echoed into the fissure. The broken mask, the last one standing, staggered toward Eli with movements that were almost human and yet all wrong—his limbs jerking too fast, his spine arched unnaturally. His voice came distorted, layered with a hu

Rain lashed the windows of Crest’s north wing as Eli moved through the empty corridor, his steps echoing against the polished stone. The storm outside had swallowed the moon; lightning flashed intermittently, painting the halls in white scars. Somewhere deep in the walls, the pipes hummed like a distant, restless throat clearing. He adjusted the strap of the satchel on his shoulder, the weight of the journal and the blood-etched key inside a grim reminder of what waited below.Callum followed a few paces behind, coat damp, collar up. His presence was quiet but solid, a shadow tethered to Eli’s determination. “We should’ve waited until dawn,” Callum muttered. “The Watchers hunt better at night.”“They hunt no matter the hour,” Eli said without turning. “We move now or we lose the advantage.”At the stairwell they met Lena, who looked as though she hadn’t slept in days—dark crescents under her eyes, hair tied back in a rough knot. She carried a small crowbar and a flashlight whose beam

The night after the council’s grim warning felt like a stretched wire—every sound in the dormitory too sharp, every flicker of light too bright. Eli lay awake staring at the ceiling of his room in the East Wing, the shadows cast by the moon slicing across the cracked plaster like dark veins. He’d stopped counting the hours until dawn, knowing sleep wouldn’t come. Every time his eyes fluttered shut he saw them again—the faceless figures that had appeared in the library’s mirror, their hollow gazes fixed on him as if they had always been watching.He rose at last, pulling on his jacket, and stepped out into the corridor. The air smelled of cold iron and damp stone, as if the ancient building were sweating. His footsteps were muffled against the carpet as he moved down the hallway. For once the usual chatter of students sneaking late into their rooms was absent—everyone seemed to have retreated into silence after the warning bell from the council.At the far end of the hall, a light was

The corridors of Crestmoor’s oldest wing had always felt like a graveyard for forgotten promises, but tonight they throbbed with something heavier—an unspoken dread that crawled under the skin. Eli’s steps were measured and silent as he moved through the dim light. His shadow stretched long against the cracked plaster, the sound of distant thunder rolling in like a drumbeat. Behind him, Lena followed, her fingers brushing the stone walls as if feeling for a pulse in the heart of the building.“This is the third night in a row you’ve dragged me out here,” she murmured, her voice soft but carrying that edge of exasperation. “What are you hoping to find that you didn’t already find the first time?”Eli didn’t answer right away. His jaw tightened as he stared ahead at the heavy oak door at the end of the hall—the door no one was supposed to open after dark. The rumor around campus was that it led nowhere now, just an abandoned lecture chamber sealed off decades ago. But Eli knew better. H

Sleep was more of an idea than a reality that night. Eli lay on his narrow dorm bed staring at the ceiling, the faint glow of streetlamps slicing pale bars of light across the room. Every creak in the pipes sounded like footsteps; every gust against the window whispered his name. Across the hall, Lena’s light stayed on for hours before finally going dark. He wondered if she’d found any rest or if her thoughts were as restless as his.When the first fingers of dawn slipped through the clouds, Eli was already dressed. The storm had passed, leaving the world damp and gray, the air sharp with the smell of wet stone. He met Lena at the dining hall just as the first sleepy students shuffled in. She looked pale but determined, her hair pulled back, dark circles beneath her eyes.“Coffee first,” she said, sliding into the seat across from him. “Then the slab.”Eli cracked a wry smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Slab first. Coffee later.”She didn’t argue. Whatever had been between them in th