Chapter 9: Under the skin of the beast

The night fell like a dense veil over the Arkanum Academy. The magical fog that enveloped the island seemed heavier, as if something moved between the layers of the world. Pandora walked with quick steps towards the dormitory, still with a heart beating for what had happened in the forest. The warmth of Morgana’s body, the golden glow that had emanated from her own hands... none of it seemed real. And yet it was etched on his skin.

She held the coat bar firmly as she crossed the side patio, where the floating lights of magic poles softly lit up the stone paths.

The howl broke the air.

A visceral sound, full of pain. It was not an ordinary wolf. It was something that came from within, under the skin. Pandora stuck.

"Morgana is..."

She ran.

The Colosseum was empty at that time, but it was there that she found her: kneeling in the center of the arena, hands stuck to the ground, body writhing as if being torn from within.

"Morgana!" Pandora ran to her, crouching beside the werewolf.

"Stay away..." Morgana’s voice sounded guttural, her eyes already taken by a wild amber tone. "I can’t... hold."

Pandora swallowed it dry. The hair on her arm grew stiff. Morgana’s nails stretched, her muscles trembled under her skin, and her face... changed. The transformation was coming, not as before, in control, but as a brute force, merciless.

She didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know which spell to cast, I didn’t know whether to run or stay.

But something in your chest told you to stay.

"Look at me," Pandora whispered, touching Morgana’s face, who was flapping her eyes wide. "You can do it. I know you can."

The creature inside her roared, hungry, wild.

Pandora came closer. Her eyes met a sea of fury and pain, and another of trembling courage.

And then she did something she didn’t even expect.

He kissed Morgana.

It was a pure, instinctive gesture. Soft but firm. A warm bond in the midst of chaos. And for an instant, the world seemed to stop.

Morgana froze. The magic vibration around her ceased. The muscles slowly relaxed. The beast retreated.

The kiss lasted seconds - maybe more, maybe less. But when Pandora moved away, there was something different in Morgana’s eyes: lucidity. Gratitude. A kind of shock.

She took a deep breath, and the traces of transformation began to recede, slowly, until she came to herself, sweating and exhausted.

"You stopped me from losing control..." he muttered, looking at Pandora with a mixture of surprise and reverence. "How?"

"I don’t know," Pandora replied, still breathless. "I just... felt it was the right thing to do."

They stood there for a few seconds, the silence filled only by the distant sound of cicadas and the night magic of the island.

Until a snap of a branch broke the stillness.

Pandora turned around. Amy was standing there at the entrance to the Colosseum, staring at them. The blue light of the moonlight illuminated her face - and her broken heart.

"Amy..." Pandora tried to explain, but the nighe Bean took a step back.

"I just came to look for you... after all... But I didn’t know this was happening." Your voice came out blocked.

"It’s not what it looks like."

Amy smiled, sad. "All right, Pandora. You don’t owe me anything."

And then he turned and left, leaving behind the weight of a moment that could never be undone.

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The next day, the atmosphere of the gym was strangely silent. Something hovered in the air, denser than the magic fog.

In the Teachers' Ward, doors slammed. Murmurs crossed the hallways. Pandora realized something was wrong when she entered the library alive and saw Raven standing in front of the shelf of restricted grimoires, frown.

"Do you have a teacher?"

Raven looked at her with a strange glare in her eyes. "Professor Elrik didn’t show up today to teach History of Runic Magic. Not for breakfast. Not for lunch. He... just disappeared."

Pandora felt a shiver. Elrik was one of the oldest and most respected teachers of Arkanum. A time magician, mysterious but gentle.

"Missing? But how...?"

"No one knows," Raven replied. "And the board is trying to cover it up. But I know the energies of the island... and something was violated last night. An ancient seal. Part of the magic barrier is unstable."

Pandora remembered the vision she had. The mark. The stranger in the Coliseum calling her Queen.

Nothing was a coincidence.

"I need to find Amy," whispered Pandora.

"She’s in the Orchard," Raven replied immediately. "But go easy. Her heart is pure, but wounded."

Pandora nodded, and before leaving, Raven touched her shoulder.

"You’re becoming something bigger, Pandora. But this... this also makes you a target."

She left there with her stomach turned upside down. For the first time since arriving on the island, I felt that I was being pulled in several directions: by the power it awakened, by the emotions entangled between Amy, Morgana, Persephone... and now for the disappearance of Elrik.

As I walked through the suspended garden of the Dawn Wing, the sky was tinged with gold and lavender tones. The breeze whispered among the enchanted leaves, but Pandora barely noticed the beauty around.

A war was drawing. And it was the center.

But before the battle, there were broken hearts to heal. And secrets to reveal.

She pressed the pendant on her neck, feeling the magic heat vibrate.

It was just the beginning.

The Orchidarium of Arkanum was one of the most peaceful places on the island, housing magical plants that whispered to each other in forgotten languages. Pandora walked among the enchanted greenhouses, with a heavy heart. The flowers gently curved as they passed, as if feeling their intention.

Amy was sitting by a fountain, barefoot touching the translucent water, her black hair falling in waves over her shoulders. A group of celestial orchids hovered around her, floating in the air as if to comfort her.

"Amy," Pandora said delicately.

Bean nighe raised her eyes slowly. There was sadness there, but also sweetness. "I thought you wouldn’t come."

"I needed to come. I needed to see you." Pandora approached and sat down next to her. "About what happened with Morgana... I didn’t know what I was doing. I just wanted to help her."

"I understand," Amy replied in a low voice. "But that doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt."

They were silent for a few moments, listening to the sound of the waters and the whispers of flowers.

"When I saw you yesterday," Amy continued, "I felt small. As if I was losing someone even before I had her."

Pandora held her hand with affection. "You never lost me. I’m still trying to understand all this... but you are important to me, Amy. Very much."

Before I could say more, a small butterfly of light landed on her shoulder - an enchanted message. Persephone’s voice echoed softly:

"Pandora, come to my dorm. I found something. It’s serious."

Pandora looked at Amy, hesitant.

"Go," Amy said, forcing a small smile. "Then we’ll finish this conversation."

Pandora nodded, slightly shaking her hand before getting up and disappearing among the orchids. The mystery called her again.