Aeris had just stepped out of a hot shower, steam curling against the antique mirror above the sink, when her earbuds finally caught up to her mood.
She towel-dried her hair, threw on the academy uniform with minimal enthusiasm, and half-heartedly began unpacking. Her playlist shuffled into something upbeat. Familiar. Comforting. She let it fill the silence as she lined her books on the shelf, slipped socks into drawers, hung the blazer she'd probably never wear properly.
A dull thud came from the door, but Aries didn't hear it. Not until the knock repeated, louder this time, and with the urgency of someone too polite to bang but too persistent to give up.
Aeris paused the music.
Another knock.
Aeris sat up from where she'd been crouched by the bottom drawer, instinct prickling like cold fingers along the back of her neck. "Yeah?" she called, wary.
A boy's voice filtered through the door — friendly, if a little sheepish. "Uh… you're late for orientation. Thought I'd come fetch you before the night patrols start wondering if the new girl's already dead."
Aeris frowned and pulled the door open only a few inches, just enough to get a look.
The boy on the other side leaned slightly back, like he hadn't expected her to answer so fast. He was maybe eighteen, tall but not in a threatening way. His hair was a chaotic mess of auburn and black, and his uniform looked like he'd been wearing it since the last war. A worn messenger bag hung at his side, half-unzipped, with what looked like blood tablets and a cracked notebook peeking out.
He offered a crooked, not-unpleasant smile. "I'm Casimir. Everyone calls me Cas." He paused, then added with a little wince, "I was told to make sure you didn't get lost or eaten or cursed. That's happened once. Sort of."
Aeris blinked. "That's... thoughtful."
"Yeah, well." Cas scratched the back of his neck. "I'm on orientation duty. Guess they thought a half-blood was less threatening than the full-fanged brigade."
Something about the way he said it made her stomach twist. Not in a bad way.
Cas gave a wry grin. "My mom's human, dad's not. Vamp side skipped the throne and went straight to dysfunction. It's a whole thing."
Aeris stepped into the hallway, shutting the door behind her. "I'm Aeris."
"I know," Cas said, without missing a beat.. "Everyone does. You're kind of a rumor in motion."
She rolled her eyes, but couldn't help the twitch of a smile. "Great. Love that for me."
Cas started walking, waving her to follow. "Don't worry. Rumors die fast here. Unless they're interesting then they haunt you forever."
Aeris hesitated just for a second before following him.
The hallway beyond her door was long, the sconces burning with the kind of bluish fire that didn't warm anything. Her steps were soft on the old stone floor, and Cas's was unhurried, like someone who knew every creaking floorboard and which ones not to step on.
"So," he said after a beat, "any idea what you're in for tonight?"
"Nope," Aeris said, shrugging her shoulders. "Figured it'd just be, you know, a speech. Maybe some pretentious wine and vague threats about discipline."
Cas laughed. It was a short, real sound, and not the kind people forced out of politeness. "You really don't know, do you?"
Aeris slowed slightly. "Is that a problem?"
He glanced over his shoulder. "Not for me. But… maybe don't eat or drink anything someone hands you and keep your shoes on."
"That ominous, huh?"
"Oh yeah." Cas gave her a look that was all deadpan sincerity. "Last week, someone ended up in the lake. No one's sure if it was a prank or an initiation ritual. But now the lake's cursed and we don't go there anymore."
Aeris was about to laugh until she saw his expression. "…You're not kidding?"
Cas just smiled wider.
Aeris ran a hand through her still-damp hair, muttering under her breath, "What the hell kind of school is this?"
He heard her. Of course he did. "The kind that doesn't usually accept humans."
That made her stop short.
Cas turned when he noticed she wasn't beside him anymore. His expression softened. "I'm not trying to freak you out," he assured. "Just… don't expect the same rules. This place doesn't run on logic or mercy."
Aeris swallowed hard and caught up. She hadn't asked to be here but now she was in this damn academy filled with creatures who looked like they stepped out of a nightmare and runway show.
Great.
"So, Cas," Aeris said after a moment, "do all half-bloods get shoved into orientation duty?"
"Nah," he said. "I volunteered."
As they reached the grand, sweeping staircase that led down toward the main hall, Cas paused. "Oh…one more thing," he added.
Aeris turned to him.
"If anyone asks," Cas drawled with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, "tell them you're not afraid of blood or people who can bend fire with their minds."
She blinked. "Why?"
"Because fear is like a scent here," he hissed, "and some of them hunt by it."
Cas's words lingered like smoke in Aeris's mind. Fear is like a scent here and some of them hunt by it.
They reached the foot of the staircase, the grand corridor unfurling before them like a living thing.
Aeris caught sight of the Orientation Hall doors ahead, thrown open now. Warm golden light spilled out, distorted by the shadows of students trickling in, each group dressed like a portrait from another century.
But before they could reach the threshold, a calm, melodic voice rang out.
"Miss Aeris."
Both Aeris and Cas turned.
A woman approached, gliding across the stone floor like she wasn't quite touching it. Her hair was pale as mist, coiled in braids laced with tiny silver leaves. Her porcelain skin shimmered like dew just before it vanished. The pointed tips of her ears were adorned with soft metal cuffs.
Fae. Of course she was.
"Headmaster Caligo requests your presence," the woman said. Her name was Elowen.
Aeris blinked. "Now?"
"Immediately."
Cas shot Elowen a sideways glance but said nothing. He only turned to Aeris and gave a soft whistle. "Well, you're in demand already. Must be a record."
Aeris looked at him, then the hall, then back at him again. "I thought I was supposed to..."
"Orientation will wait," he said, waving two fingers in a lazy mock-salute. "Try not to get recruited into a cult or anything."
She smirked despite herself. "You say that like it's an option."
"Oh, it is," Cas said, already stepping away. "You'll see." He walked off down the corridor, shoulders slouched like someone used to vanishing into crowds.
Aeris turned back to Elowen, whose expression hadn't shifted once. "…Right," she muttered under her breath. "Lead the way, leaf lady."
Elowen didn't comment, she only turned on her heel, and Aeris followed.
They walked through a quieter wing of the academy. The walls here weren't lined with portraits like the rest of the school. Instead, fragments of mirrors hung in asymmetrical clusters. They reflected Aeris at odd angles: a flash of her arm, the corner of her mouth, the flicker of her eyes.
None of the reflections matched.
"Is this part of the school?" Aeris asked, uneased.
"Most students never come this far," Elowen answered, "Consider yourself… chosen."
That doesn't sound like a good thing, Aeris thought, but kept her mouth shut.
They stopped before a heavy, rune-etched door. The fae placed a hand against it. The symbols flared, then faded, and the door creaked open.
"Inside," Elowen cued.
Stepping inside, Aeris felt like walking into a spell half-cast and half-watching. Cold seeped through the soles of her shoes. The smell of stone and ancient parchment coiled in her lungs.
The room was circular, hollow like a tower, lined with shelves that reached into darkness. Books. Scrolls. Vials of things that glowed faintly. It didn't smell like an office — it smelled like a crypt where knowledge was buried alive.
At the center of the room, there was a massive desk, ancient and gnarled as if it had grown up from the earth itself rather than been built. Behind it, a high-backed chair faced away from her.
Aeris was about to speak when the chair slowly turned.
The man who faced her did not look like a teacher or a man, really.