Chapter 4:
Dreams bled into dawn, and upon waking, only one name lingered on Aisha's lips—a name she had never spoken before: Zaira.
She didn't know if it was an echo from her mind, a borrowed memory, or just a fragment of a dream. But every time she opened her eyes, that word clung to the folds of her sheets like an invisible scar pressed against her skin.
The air in Colegio Mayor Unidad had turned cold. Too cold.Aisha stood by the window, staring at the moon. But this time… the moon was staring back at her.
—You are no longer alone—a voice whispered inside her. It wasn't hers. It wasn't human.
The book in her lap trembled. The leather cover pulsed as though alive. She hadn't opened it… yet it breathed beneath her fingers.She dared to glance at the last page she had stopped at.
And she saw her.Zaira.Her face. Her body. Her wounds.Burning.
—No… —Aisha gasped.
But it wasn't a drawing. The page moved.Zaira staggered across the parchment, leaving bloody footprints behind. Wolves circled her. And one of them…Had golden eyes.
Suddenly, Aisha was no longer in her room.She was standing in a forest drowned in fog and fire.
Zaira knelt before her.—I never wanted this for you—she whispered, her voice broken—. I only wanted you to remember me… not to become me.
Aisha stumbled back, bewildered.—Who are you?
—I am the reason he cannot love you without guilt.—Who?
The wind howled. A silver medallion crashed at her feet, split in two.—Sanathiel—Zaira murmured—. He watched me burn. Now, he watches you live.
A scream tore through the trees. It was her own scream, yet it wasn't hers.
She awoke with the taste of ashes in her mouth.—They're only dreams… nothing but dreams.
Shaking her head, she rushed down the corridor.Turning a corner, she collided with someone. The impact sent her reeling, but firm hands caught her.
—I'm sorry —a deep voice said.
Aisha looked up. The boy who steadied her had white hair, straight and swept back, and violet eyes that glowed with an unsettling light. Taller than anyone in the hall, his presence was as imposing as it was unreal.
A strange warmth flared in her chest, as if the brief contact had lit something inside her. At the same time, a cold void spread through her stomach, warning her to beware.
—You… —she whispered without thinking.
The boy handed back her notebook. As she picked it up, a loose page slipped to the floor: a spiral drawing, a wolf formed entirely by the word Sanathiel, written again and again to madness.
He studied the page, a faint smile curving his lips.—Do you like fairy tales, Aisha? —he asked calmly.
She stiffened.—How do you know my name?
For a heartbeat, his violet eyes seemed to ignite, as if the hallway itself breathed with him.—They say wolves never truly disappear.
When she blinked, he was gone. No trace. Not even footprints on the damp floor.
The next morning, in class, the teacher's voice broke the silence:—The new student, Rasen, will be paired with Miss Aisha.
The entire room held its breath.Aisha raised her eyes—and he was already watching her. There was kindness in his gaze, but also calculation, the restrained pulse of a predator.
The boy with black wavy hair and deep brown eyes walked to take his seat beside her. A thin ring engraved with an ancient rune glimmered on his finger as he idly played with his hands, though his posture remained relaxed.
Aisha gripped her pen. Without realizing, she had scrawled the same name over and over again: Sanathiel.
—Your hand is trembling —he murmured.—It isn't —Aisha retorted, looking away.
He smiled. But it wasn't a smile—it was a warning.
Later, in the empty bathroom, Aisha clung to the sink. Her dilated pupils reflected her unrest.—It isn't real…
Thunder rattled the windows. Then, a silhouette appeared in the doorway.
Rasen. Drenched in rain. His dark gaze wide, unblinking.
—What are you? —Aisha demanded, clutching the notebook against her chest.
He pointed at the drawing of the wolf, his ring flashing in the dim light.—The same as you. A mistake someone wants to erase.
The faucet water turned black. The mirror fractured, showing shadows with burning eyes clawing at the glass, trying to break through from another world.
Aisha stepped back.
Rasen raised his hand. The three circles etched on his wrist pulsed with a violet glow.—We'll meet again soon, Aisha.
And then… he vanished.
Smoke lingered, leaving three letters hanging in the air: S.S.V.
The notebook trembled in her hands, heavy as a gravestone. Every heartbeat in her chest was a foreboding.And yet, deep down…She wanted to know more.
That desire… was the true trap.