The Wolf At The Door
POV: Seth
My blood turned to ice at the sound of that voice, rough, scarred, carrying the weight of authority and cruelty I remembered from my worst nightmares. Magnus Blackclaw. The hunter commander who'd led the raid on my family's estate, who'd personally overseen the execution of my parents, who'd sworn to track me down no matter how far I ran.
He was here. In the academy. At the ball. And he had me.
The ballroom erupted in chaos as students bumped into each other in the darkness, calling out questions and complaints about the sudden loss of light. In that confusion, pure survival instinct took over. I twisted violently in Magnus's grip, using the self-defense techniques that had kept me alive for months on the run.
My elbow connected with something soft, his stomach, maybe - and his grip loosened just enough for me to tear free. I plunged into the crowd of confused students, pushing past elaborate gowns and formal uniforms, using their panic to mask my escape.
"Find her!" Magnus's voice roared over the chaos. "Don't let her leave this room!"
But I was already gone, slipping through a side door into the corridors beyond. My heart hammered against my ribs as I ran, not caring about stealth anymore, only distance. How had he found me? How had he gotten inside the academy without being detected?
The answer came to me as I reached the first junction of corridors, he'd had help. Someone inside the academy had been feeding him information, guiding him to me. The anonymous letters, the strategic positioning of threats, the way he'd known exactly where to find me in that darkened ballroom.
I had been betrayed from within.
Behind me, I could hear shouts and running footsteps as the ball dissolved into pandemonium. The academy's bells began ringing - the alarm signal for threats and lockdowns. Whatever cover Magnus had been using was blown now.
I reached the hidden passage entrance behind the tapestry, my hands shaking as I fumbled with the concealed latch. These tunnels had been my sanctuary before; maybe they could save me again.
The narrow stone corridors felt like a tomb as I navigated by memory and desperate hope. Every sound echoed, every footstep seeming to announce my presence to anyone listening. But where could I go? Every exit would be watched now. Every escape route would be blocked. I was trapped.
"Seth!" Kieran's voice echoed from somewhere in the main corridors, muffled by stone and distance. "Seth, where are you?"
The anguish in his voice nearly stopped me in my tracks. He was searching for me, probably terrified about what had happened in those chaotic moments when the lights went down. But I couldn't go to him. Couldn't explain. Couldn't drag him into this nightmare.
I pressed deeper into the tunnel system, trying to remember the layout Xavier and I had explored weeks ago. There had to be another way out, some route Magnus and his people wouldn't know about. That's when I heard voices ahead, not from the main academy, but from within the passages themselves.
"She has to be in here somewhere," a woman's voice said. Lady Mira. "These tunnels connect to all the major buildings."
"And you're certain she knows about them?" The second voice made my skin crawl. Magnus Blackclaw, closer than ever.
"Positive. Talon saw her coming out of the hidden entrance weeks ago. The girl's been using these passages to avoid detection."
My stomach dropped. Lady Mira. It had been Lady Mira feeding information to Magnus, guiding him to me. But why? What did she have to gain from turning me over to a hunter commander?
"Your jealousy has been most useful," Magnus continued, his voice growing fainter as they moved away from my hiding spot. "Though I'm curious, what exactly did this girl do to earn such hatred?"
"She doesn't belong here," Lady Mira replied, venom dripping from every word. "A common nobody drawing the attention of our best students, disrupting the natural order. Talon should be focusing on suitable companions, not wasting time on some peasant girl with delusions of grandeur."
Talon. She thought Talon was interested in me, and her jealousy had led her to betray me to the hunters. The irony would have been laughable if it weren't so terrifying.
Their voices faded as they moved deeper into the tunnel system, but I knew they'd be back. They were systematically searching every passage, every hiding spot. It was only a matter of time before they found me. I had to get out. Now.
I doubled back through passages I'd memorized during my weeks at the academy, heading for the one route I hoped Magnus wouldn't expect, the tower stairs that led to the roof where Elias had taken us that first night.
The climb felt endless, my legs burning from the effort, my breathing harsh in the narrow stairwell. Below, I could hear the academy in full lockdown, guards running through corridors, instructors calling out orders, the systematic search that was closing in around me.
I reached the tower room gasping for air, my formal clothes torn from squeezing through tight spaces. The window I remembered was still there, leading to a narrow ledge that ran around the outside of the building. In daylight, it looked treacherous. In darkness, it looked suicidal. But it was my only chance.
I was wrestling with the window latch when footsteps on the stairs made me freeze. Someone was coming up, fast, taking the steps two at a time.
I grabbed the nearest object that could serve as a weapon - an old candlestick from a dusty shelf - and pressed myself against the wall beside the door.
"Seth?" Kieran's voice, breathless from the climb. "Seth, are you up here?"
Relief flooded through me so intensely that I nearly collapsed. "Kieran," I whispered.
He appeared in the doorway, still in his formal uniform but disheveled from running. His dark hair was messed up, his face flushed with exertion and worry. When he saw me, the relief on his face mirrored my own.
"Thank God," he breathed. "When you disappeared in the ballroom, when I heard the alarm bells... I thought..." He crossed the room in three quick steps, reaching for me.
"Don't," I said, backing away toward the window. "You can't be here. You can't be involved in this."
"Involved in what?" His eyes took in my torn clothes, my defensive posture, the way I was positioning myself near the window. "Seth, what's happening? Who was that man in the ballroom?"
I opened my mouth to lie, to deflect, to protect him the way I'd been protecting him all along. But the words wouldn't come. I was so tired of lying, so exhausted by the constant deception.
"Someone from my past," I said finally. "Someone dangerous."
"What kind of dangerous?"
I looked at him, really looked at him. His honest face, his concerned eyes, the way he was standing ready to fight whatever threat had me so terrified. He deserved the truth. Or at least part of it.
"The kind that kills people," I whispered.
His face went pale, but he didn't back away. "Then we need to get you somewhere safe. The instructors, the guards-"
"Won't help." I turned back to the window, forcing the latch open. "Some threats are too big for academy security."
"Seth, what are you doing?"
"What I should have done weeks ago. Running."
The window opened onto the narrow stone ledge I remembered. In the darkness below, I could see torches moving through the academy grounds, search parties, guards, hunters. The net tightening around me with every passing second.
"You can't go out there," Kieran said, moving toward me. "It's a death trap."
"Staying is a death trap," I replied, swinging one leg over the windowsill. "At least this way I have a chance."
"Then I'm coming with you."
"No!" The word came out sharper than I intended. "You're not part of this. You don't understand what you're volunteering for."
"I understand that someone I care about is in danger," he said fiercely. "I understand that you're terrified and alone and trying to face something that's too big for one person."
The words hit me like physical blows. Someone he cared about. If only he knew that caring for me was the most dangerous thing he could do.
"Kieran," I said desperately, "if you come with me, if you get involved in this, it will destroy your life. Your future, your family, everything you've worked for."
"My future doesn't mean anything if you're not in it."
The confession hung between us, raw and honest and completely devastating. I stared at him, seeing everything I wanted and couldn't have reflected in his dark eyes.
"You don't know what you're saying," I whispered.
"I know exactly what I'm saying." He moved closer, close enough to touch. "I don't know who you really are, Seth. I don't know what secrets you're carrying or what danger you're running from. But I know you're good, and kind, and worth fighting for."
Tears I couldn't afford blurred my vision. "I'm not. I'm not any of those things."
"Yes, you are." He reached for my hand, his fingers warm and strong around mine. "And whatever this is, whatever you're facing, I won't let you face it alone."
Before I could respond, a new voice echoed from the courtyard far below - loud enough to carry through the night air, cold enough to freeze my blood all over again.
"Burn it down if you have to," Magnus Blackclaw's voice co
mmanded. "She's in there somewhere, and I want her found."