Chapter 26 Hideout
The forest thickened as Kai pushed deeper between the trees, the canopy closing overhead until daylight thinned into a muted green hush. Leaves crunched beneath her shoes, damp earth clinging to the air.
“Hey, Kate! Are you here?” Kai called out, her voice sharp against the stillness.
The house rose from the forest floor like a memory no one wanted to claim. Its walls were pale and stained with age, streaked by rain and shadow. The roof sagged slightly in the middle, wooden beams exposed where time had bitten too deeply. Ivy crawled up the sides, winding around cracked windows and broken shutters, as if trying to pull the place back into the earth.
The path leading to the front porch was barely visible now, overgrown with weeds and fallen branches. The porch itself groaned softly when Kai stepped onto it, the sound carrying far too loudly in the quiet. The front door hung crooked on its hinges, paint peeling in long, curling strips.
Inside, the air changed.
It smelled of dust, old wood, and something faintly metallic—like rust mixed with damp stone. There was no electricity here. There never had been, not since the place was abandoned years ago. Instead, a single oil lamp sat on a small table near the entrance, its flame already lit, casting a warm but flickering glow across the room.
The light revealed what time had left behind.
An old sitting area stretched before her, furniture frozen in place like it had been waiting for someone to return. Two worn sofas faced each other, their once-rich fabric faded and threadbare. A heavy wooden cabinet lined one wall, shelves still filled with books warped by moisture, their spines cracked but intact. A patterned rug lay beneath the furniture, colors dulled but still holding traces of elegance.
Dust coated everything, undisturbed except for faint footprints near the center of the room.
“This place still gives me chills,” Kai muttered, though her tone held more excitement than fear.
She moved farther inside. The lamp’s glow followed her, stretching shadows across the walls. Near the far window stood the figure everyone whispered about—the woman who watched from behind the glass.
Perfectly still. Pale. Silent.
A mannequin.
Its dress was old-fashioned, white lace yellowed with age. Its hair—long and dark—fell stiffly over its shoulders. From a distance, in the moonlight or fog, it looked disturbingly real. More than enough to scare off curious students.
Kai smiled to herself.
No one came here anymore. That was the point.
“Relax,” she said softly, as if the house itself were listening. “It’s just us.”
A soft creak sounded from deeper inside the house.
Kai turned.
Kate stepped out from the hallway, brushing dust from her jacket. “You didn’t have to shout,” she said quietly. “Someone might hear.”
Kai scoffed. “Please. Everyone’s busy with the Rite. No one’s wandering into the woods tonight.”
Kate glanced toward the window, uneasy. “Still. This place… it feels wrong sometimes.”
Kai rolled her eyes. “That’s the whole charm.”
She moved toward the center of the room and dropped into one of the sofas, ignoring the puff of dust it released. The lamp flickered slightly, responding to the shift in air.
“Did you hear what people are saying?” Kai asked, her voice lowering. “About Selene.”
Kate stiffened. “What about her?”
Kai’s lips curved into a slow smile. “She’s everywhere. Lunaria. The trials. Now she’s suddenly walking around like she owns the place.”
Kate frowned. “People notice confidence.”
“Confidence doesn’t come out of nowhere,” Kai snapped. Then she softened, leaning back against the couch. “She’s changing. And everyone’s starting to see it.”
Kate hesitated. “You’re sure this is a good idea?”
Kai’s eyes flicked toward the mannequin by the window. “Of course it is.”
She reached up and adjusted the lamp’s wick, brightening the flame just enough to sharpen the shadows. The house seemed to breathe with it.
“She thinks she’s safe,” Kai continued. “That she understands what’s happening. But she doesn’t see the full picture.”
Kate crossed her arms. “And you do?”
Kai smiled again—slow, controlled. “I see enough.”
The forest outside rustled, branches swaying gently. Moonlight filtered through the cracked windowpanes, glinting off dust motes in the air. The mannequin’s shadow stretched unnaturally long across the floor.
“She won’t come here,” Kate said quietly. “Selene avoids this place.”
“For now,” Kai replied.
She stood and walked toward the window, stopping beside the mannequin. From here, the forest beyond looked endless, dark and tangled.
“Everyone thinks this house is haunted,” Kai said. “They think the woman at the window is a spirit.”
She reached out and turned the mannequin’s head slightly, angling its empty gaze toward the path outside.
“But ghosts aren’t the ones people should be afraid of.”
Kate watched her, uneasy. “You’re enjoying this too much.”
Kai didn’t deny it.
“And oh,” Kai added, her fingers still resting on the mannequin’s stiff shoulder, “the tres-marias reported something interesting.”
Kate’s eyes narrowed. “Marionette, Julian, and Maria?”
“The same,” Kai said. She turned slowly, the lamp’s glow catching the curve of her smile. “They came to me earlier. Breathless. Tripping over their own words.”
Kate didn’t like that smile. “What did they say?”
Kai walked back to the sofa but didn’t sit. She paced instead, slow and deliberate, like she was choosing which truth to unwrap first.
“They were near the edge of the grounds,” she said. “Cutting through the trees instead of taking the path. You know how they are, always looking for shortcuts, always looking for trouble.”
Kate’s stomach tightened. “And?”
“And they saw her,” Kai continued. “Coming out of Lunaria.”
Kate went still. “Selene?”
“Yes.” Kai stopped pacing. “Selene.”
The name settled heavily in the room.
Kate frowned. “Alone?”
Kai let out a soft laugh. “That’s the thing. She wasn’t.”
The lamp crackled quietly.
“She walked out of the trees like it was nothing,” Kai said. “Calm. Not hiding. Not rushing. Like Lunaria had simply… let her go.”
Kate swallowed. “With who?”
Kai’s gaze lifted, sharp and intent. “Ryzen.”
Kate’s breath caught despite herself. “Ryzen Morwood?”
“The same one,” Kai said. “Tall. Quiet. Always watching. They said he walked beside her like he belonged there. Like he’d done it before.”
“Oh my jolly juice… but that doesn’t mean anything,” Kate said, though her voice lacked conviction.
Kai tilted her head. “Doesn’t it?”
She moved closer, lowering her voice. “Think about it. Lunaria isn’t just a tree. People don’t wander in and out of that place without reason. And Selene has never gone there with anyone. Not Christopher. Not her friends. No one.”
Kate rubbed her arms. “People will twist that.”
“They already are,” Kai replied calmly. “Marionette said Selene didn’t even look worried. Like she doesn’t care if they were caught or not.”
Kate hesitated. “Did they hear anything?”
“No,” Kai said. “But they didn’t need to. They said it felt… intimate but not in a romantic way.” Her eyes gleamed. “But way worse, it felt familiar. Like they have known each other for a long time. And we all know, Selene has no friends beside me and no male close friends beside Christy.”
Kate let go of a wide grin upon hearing the name of Christopher while she is shaking her head. “Christopher won’t like this.”
Kai smiled. “Exactly.”
She leaned against the table, folding her arms. “He hates being out of the loop. Hates the idea that something is happening around him without his control and he hates someone betraying him, what more if it is Selene?”
“That’s giving me goosebumps. I wonder what Christopher will do if he finds out. And what about Selene?” Kate asked carefully.
Kai’s smile thinned. “She probably thinks she slipped away unnoticed. That the forest covered her tracks.”
She glanced toward the window again, toward the dark path beyond the glass.
“But the Rite changed things,” Kai said. “Everyone’s watching now. Everyone’s listening.”
Kate frowned. “What are you going to do?”
Kai didn’t answer right away. She reached out and nudged the mannequin’s arm, letting it sway slightly. The shadow it cast shifted across the floor, stretching longer, thinner.
“I don’t have to do much,” she said finally. “I just have to let people talk.”
“That’s dangerous,” Kate said. “Rumors don’t stay small. They tend to get bigger since someone might add or remove details on the topic.”
Kai turned back to her, eyes bright. “That’s the point.”
Outside, the forest rustled, leaves whispering secrets into the night. Somewhere far off, an owl cried once, then fell silent.
Kate studied Kai’s face. “You’re sure this won’t backfire?”
Kai’s gaze flicked briefly to the lamp, then back to Kate. “Selene thinks she understands the board now. Thinks she’s seeing everything clearly.”
She stepped closer, lowering her voice until it was almost a whisper.
“But she’s forgotten something important.” Kai smiled.
“People don’t fear what they understand,” she said softly. “They fear what doesn’t fit.”
She straightened, smoothing her jacket as if the decision had already been made.
“And right now,” Kai continued, “Selene doesn’t fit anywhere she used to.”
Kate smirked, then asked quietly, “So… are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
Kai’s smile widened just a fraction.
“Aren’t you?”