Chapter 63 Hidden Threats
POV: Luna
We wait until late afternoon to make our move.
The campus is busy with faculty reinforcing wards and students whispering nervously in groups. Perfect cover.
Marcus meets us near the east gate, looking pale but determined.
"This is a terrible idea," he says.
"Probably," I agree. "But we need to know what we're dealing with."
"The wards are on high alert. Getting past them without triggering alarms is going to be tricky."
"Can you do it?"
He pulls out his homemade ward detector. "Maybe. For about three minutes. That's all the time I can give you before the system resets and flags us."
"Three minutes is enough."
Nova shifts nervously. "And if we get caught?"
"We won't," I say with more confidence than I feel.
Marcus studies his device, waiting for the right moment.
"Now," he whispers.
We slip through the ward line, and I feel the magic part around us like a curtain. Marcus did it. We're through.
We run into the forest, heading toward where the rogues gathered last night. I can still sense the residue of their presence. It's like a stain on the air.
"This way," I say, following my instincts.
We reach the spot after about ten minutes. The ground is torn up, trees scratched and marked. The rogues were definitely here.
But it's what else is here that makes me stop cold.
Symbols.
Carved into the trees. Drawn in the dirt. Burned into rocks.
The same symbols that were on the collars I found on the rogue wolves.
"Luna," Nova says quietly. "What are these?"
"Dark magic. Someone was here. Someone who isn't a rogue." I move closer to one of the trees, studying the carved symbol. "These are command markers. They're used to control corrupted creatures."
"So someone stood right here and directed those rogues to attack the Academy?" Marcus asks.
"Yes."
I crouch down, examining the ground more carefully. There are footprints. Human-sized. Leading deeper into the forest.
"Someone was definitely here," I say. "Recently. Within the last day or two."
"Can you tell who?" Nova asks.
"No. But they're not trying very hard to hide their tracks." I stand. "It's almost like they want us to follow."
"That's not ominous at all," Marcus mutters.
I'm about to suggest we head back when I notice something else.
A piece of fabric caught on a low branch.
I pull it free and examine it. It's dark blue. Expensive material. The kind worn by upper-year students or faculty.
"This is from someone at the Academy," I say, my blood running cold.
Nova takes it from me, studying it. "Are you sure?"
"Look at the weave. This is Silverwood uniform fabric. Only students and faculty wear this."
The implications hit all three of us at once.
"Someone from the Academy is controlling the rogues," Marcus says. "Someone who walked out here and commanded them to attack."
"But who?" Nova asks. "Who would do that?"
I think about everything that's happened. The sabotaged training. The solo trial that was clearly a setup. The constant attacks targeting me specifically.
Someone with access to Academy records. Someone who could manipulate paperwork. Someone powerful enough to learn dark magic without being detected.
"I don't know yet," I say. "But they're someone with authority. Someone who can move freely without suspicion."
"That could be dozens of people," Nova says. "Faculty. Senior students. Even administrators."
"Trust is fragile at Silverwood," Marcus adds quietly. "After last night, everyone's suspicious of everyone else. If we start accusing people without proof, it'll tear the Academy apart."
He's right. We need more than a piece of fabric and some symbols.
"We should take samples," I say. "Document everything. Then we can show it to Professor Cael. He'll know what to do."
Marcus pulls out his phone and starts taking pictures of the symbols. Nova carefully folds the fabric and pockets it.
I'm about to suggest we head back when my mark flares.
Hot and urgent.
"Someone's coming," I whisper.
We freeze, listening.
Footsteps. Moving through the forest toward us.
"Hide," I hiss.
We duck behind a cluster of thick bushes just as a figure emerges into the clearing.
It's Professor Thorne.
He walks directly to one of the marked trees and places his hand on the symbol. His lips move, speaking words I can't hear from this distance.
The symbol glows briefly under his touch.
Then he turns and walks back the way he came.
As soon as he's out of sight, Nova grabs my arm.
"Did you see that?" she whispers frantically. "He touched the symbol. He made it glow."
"He could have been examining it," Marcus suggests. "Investigating like we are."
"Or he could be the one who put it there," I say.
My mind is racing. Professor Thorne. The same Marcus Thorne who betrayed my grandmother. Who's been at this Academy for over two hundred years. Who always seems to be present when bad things happen to me.
"We need to get back," I say. "Now."
We hurry through the forest, moving as quickly and quietly as possible.
My mark is still burning. Something is very wrong.
We're almost to the ward line when I feel it.
That sensation of being watched.
I spin around, scanning the trees behind us.
Nothing. Just shadows and branches.
But I know someone's there.
"Luna, come on," Nova urges. "We're almost through."
We slip back through the wards just as Marcus's device beeps a warning.
"Thirty seconds until reset," he says. "That was close."
Too close.
We make it back to campus and split up to avoid suspicion. I head toward my dorm, trying to look casual even though my heart is pounding.
I'm almost there when I hear it.
A whisper.
So quiet I almost miss it.
Right behind me.
"You're next."
I spin around, but there's no one there.
Just empty hallway.
But the whisper lingers in my mind, cold and certain.
You're next.