110. Dance of the Fairies Hotel

110. Dance of the Fairies Hotel
Night had already settled over the Arkanum Academy when Pandora walked quietly through the corridors, her steps hesitant, her heart heavy. The torches along the walls burned low, casting long shadows that seemed to stretch toward her like grasping hands. She stopped in front of the door to the room she shared with Perséfone.
The door was slightly ajar.
Pandora leaned closer, careful not to make a sound, and peeked inside.
Raven, Perséfone, Morgana, Amy, and Thiely were gathered together, sitting close on the bed and chairs, their expressions tense and worried. The air felt thick with concern.
“I don’t like this,” Raven said, her voice low but firm. “Pandora is hiding something from us. I can feel it.”
Perséfone nodded slowly, fingers twisting together in her lap.
“She’s been distant all day. Ever since this morning.”
 “Whatever it is,” Morgana said, arms crossed, eyes sharp, “we’re going to find out tonight. We won’t let her dodge us anymore.”
Amy hugged her knees, wings trembling faintly.
  “I’m scared. She’s acting like someone who’s saying goodbye.”
Thiely frowned, jaw tight.
  “If she thinks she can carry something this big alone, she’s wrong.”
Pandora’s breath caught in her throat.
Fear surged through her not of them, but of what would happen if they pressed her. She knew she wouldn’t be strong enough to keep lying. One look into Raven’s eyes, one touch from Perséfone, and the truth would spill out like blood from an open wound.
She couldn’t let that happen.
Tears burned behind her eyes as she stepped back from the door, retreating silently into the shadows. Her heart screamed to go to them, to hold them one last time but she turned away.
Instead, she changed direction.
The guardians’ dormitory was quiet, older than the rest of the Academy, its magic heavier, deeper. Pandora stopped in front of Thalor’s door and knocked softly.
It opened almost immediately.
Thalor studied her face for half a second and knew.
  “You’re not well,” he said gently. “Come in.”
He guided her inside and handed her a glass of water. Pandora took it with shaking hands.
 “I can’t face them,” she admitted, voice barely above a whisper. “They’ll pressure me until I tell the truth. And I can’t. I need a safe place to hide… until the day comes.”
She looked up at him, desperate.
  “Do you know somewhere like that?”
Thalor exhaled slowly.
  “There is a hotel in a magical dimension called Kérite. A neutral place. Completely shielded. No tracking spells. No divination. No magical location wards can reach it.”
Pandora nodded, hope flickering.
  “Then that’s where I need to be.”
Thalor’s expression hardened.
  “You won’t go alone. Lady Mourn can find you. Elyana can find you. From them, you cannot hide, not completely.”
Pandora swallowed and nodded again.
  “All right. I just need my things. But I can’t go back there… Perséfone can’t see me.”
Thalor smiled faintly.
“That won’t be a problem. Tell me what you need. I can go anywhere without being seen.”
Pandora listed her belongings quickly.
Thalor vanished in a blink.
Invisible, he appeared inside Pandora’s shared room. He saw them all Raven pacing, Perséfone staring at the door, Morgana tense, Amy worried, Thiely restless. Their concern filled the room like a storm.
He slipped into the closet, conjured a suitcase, and packed Pandora’s things with practiced speed.
Then he was gone.
Back in his room, Thalor handed the suitcase to Pandora, gathered his own belongings, and opened a portal shimmering with ancient runes. Together, they stepped through.
The world shifted.
They arrived at the hotel in Kérite, a place suspended between realities, glowing softly under a sky that did not belong to any world.
Meanwhile, back at the Academy, the girls waited.
Minutes passed. Then more.
 “It’s late,” Morgana said grimly. “She’s not coming.”
They searched the Academy classrooms, corridors, towers, libraries until they regrouped in the garden, anxiety carved into their faces.
Amy hesitated, then spoke.
“A classmate told me she saw a girl matching Pandora’s description heading toward the guardians’ dormitory.”
Raven’s blood ran cold.
“Thalor…” she whispered. “She must have gone to him.”
With dread pounding in their chests, they turned and ran toward the guardians’ quarters.

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The girls reached the door to Thalor’s quarters at the same time, their footsteps echoing sharply through the guardians’ corridor. Raven didn’t hesitate for even a second.
She slammed her fist against the door hard, fast, relentless.
“I know Pandora is in there!” Raven shouted, her voice raw with fury and fear. “And if she thinks she can hide from the people who truly care about her, she’s dead wrong!”
The door remained closed. Silent. Unmoving.
 “Open this door!” Raven growled, striking it again. “Pandora, listen to me!”
Before she could hit it a third time, another door nearby opened.
A tall elven woman stepped into the corridor, her skin glowing like molten gold, her long blue hair braided intricately down her back. Her sharp eyes flicked from Raven’s clenched fists to the sealed door.
“What is all this noise?” she demanded coolly. “I was in the middle of a spell.”
Raven spun toward her, eyes blazing.
“Tell Thalor to open the damn door, or Goddess help me… I will bring it down.”
The elf raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.
“You’re welcome to try,” she replied calmly. “But the room is shielded with ancient magic. Only another guardian can break that seal.”
She paused, studying them more closely.
“Now tell me what’s going on? Why the urgency?”
Thiely stepped forward, her jaw tight with rage.
  “Because we’re very curious to know why he’s locked inside his room with our girlfriend.”
“Oh!” The elf blinked, clearly startled, then quickly composed herself. “I’m quite certain Thalor wouldn’t be foolish enough to involve himself intimately with one of his students. But… to put your minds at ease, let’s clear this up.”
She approached the door, murmured an ancient incantation, and traced glowing sigils in the air.
The door unlocked by itself.
The girls rushed inside, the guardian elf following closely behind.
The room was empty.
The bed untouched.
The air cold.
The closet doors stood wide open.
“I don’t believe this!” Morgana snapped, hands trembling. “Is it just me, or does it look exactly like what I think it does?”
Amy’s wings fluttered anxiously as she looked around.
  “It looks like they ran away,” she said, trying and failing to stay calm. “But… where would they go?”
Thiely turned sharply toward the guardian.
  “You know where he lives, don’t you, Sahlira?”
Raven’s expression darkened.
  “He wouldn’t be stupid enough to take Pandora to his home. No. He must have gone somewhere he can’t be found.”
She locked eyes with the elf.
  “Do you know a place like that, Sahlira?”
Sahlira went quiet, thinking. Then her eyes widened slightly.
 “There is only one place,” she said slowly. “An enchanted hotel in a magical dimension called Kérite. A refuge for magical beings who don’t wish to be found. Very few know its location. I’ve been there once.”
She straightened.
  “I know how to get there. I can take you.”
Without another word, Sahlira opened a portal.
On the other side lay a grand hotel lobby marble floors, crystal chandeliers, tall arched windows. Unlike the Academy, it was clearly daytime here, sunlight pouring warmly into the space.
They stepped through.
Behind the counter stood a strikingly handsome Black man, impeccably dressed, posture elegant and relaxed. He smiled politely.
 “Welcome to the Dance of the Fairies Hotel,” he said smoothly. “Would you like couple rooms or individual ones?”
Raven stepped forward, all patience gone.
“An albino elf with long white hair checked in here with a purple-haired fairy. Which rooms are they in?”
The man’s smile faded.
  “No. I’m sorry. We don’t have anyone matching that description.”
In a blur of supernatural speed, Raven was suddenly in front of him.
She grabbed him by the collar and lifted him off the ground with ease.
 “If I have to ask you again,” Raven hissed, fangs flashing, “I’ll drain every last drop of your blood. So easy way or hard way?”
“Hard way,” a feminine voice replied calmly from behind them.
They all turned.
A young white woman stood at the center of the lobby, her black hair cascading over her shoulders, blue eyes sharp and merciless. She wore an elegant red dress, and translucent wings shimmered behind her back.
A fairy.
“You will pay for your intrusion,” she said coldly.
She moved her hands gracefully.
Dark magic rippled outward like a wave.
Instantly, Raven, Perséfone, Amy, Thiely, and Sahlira stiffened—then began to move, their bodies forced into an unnatural dance, limbs obeying an invisible rhythm they could not control.
Raven screamed in frustration, trying to resist. Pain exploded behind her eyes, as if her skull were about to split open.
Morgana roared.
Her body twisted, bones shifting as she transformed into her wolf form. The sudden change shattered the spell’s hold on her. She lunged forward, fangs bared, leaping toward the fairy.
But the man behind the counter raised one hand.
His eyes glowed with deep, luminous blue magic.
Shadows surged from the floor, wrapping around Morgana’s body and slamming her down, pinning her to the ground with crushing force.
The fairy smiled, pleased.
“Very good, James,” she said smoothly.
Then she looked at the struggling girls.
“Now let’s show them what happens to those who invade our domain.”
And the lobby doors closed behind them with a soft, final click.