The first light of dawn bled through the trees as Aira and the others stumbled out of the forest. Their uniforms were torn, hair tangled with leaves, and mud clung to their shoes. The cold morning air burned in her lungs, but she didn't care — they were out.
Zara exhaled shakily. "We actually made it…"
Josh didn't even joke this time — just nodded, pale and quiet. Aelric walked ahead, silent, his shoulders tense. Every few steps, he looked back to check if Aira was still following, and each time, his gaze lingered just a second too long.
Aira barely felt her legs. Her thoughts were still stuck in that dark maze — the whispers, the shifting shadows, the fear that had crawled under her skin. But they'd survived. Somehow.
Just as they reached the gate, a sharp voice broke the silence.
"Where were you four?"
Ms. Lira's fury cut through the air. Within minutes, they were being marched straight into the principal's office.
Principal Hale looked ready to erupt. "The restricted forest? Do you understand how dangerous that place is?"
Aira opened her mouth to explain — "We were looking for—" — but Hale's glare silenced her.
"You could have been killed," he continued. "This is reckless, irresponsible, and exactly what I expected from this group."
Zara stared at the floor. Josh muttered something that sounded like an apology. Aira's fists clenched — the unfairness of it burned in her chest.
Then Aelric's voice cut through the tension. "It was my idea."
The principal froze. "Yours?"
He nodded. "They followed because they were worried about me."
"Then you'll take full responsibility."
Aira's head snapped up. "Wait, no— it wasn't just him—"
But Aelric's quiet glance stopped her cold. His eyes said Don't.
The punishment came swiftly — a week of detention, no outdoor access, a permanent mark on their record. When they left, the hallways felt suffocatingly silent.
Zara and Josh whispered about expulsion. Aira said nothing. Her chest ached with everything she hadn't said — because Aelric didn't deserve to take the fall for all of them.
When they reached the dorms, she noticed his bed was empty. His bag lay tossed on it, untouched.
Without thinking, she turned back and slipped outside.
She found him sitting on the old stone bench near the courtyard, the one overlooking the forest's edge. Dawn painted the world in pale gold, but Aelric looked carved from shadow — head bowed, fingers pressed against his temple.
He didn't move when she approached, just muttered, "You're terrible at staying put."
"Maybe I didn't want to," she said softly, stopping beside him. "You shouldn't have taken the blame like that."
"I could handle it."
"That's not the point," she said, frustrated. "You didn't even ask us. You just— decided."
Silence. Then, quietly, he said, "I thought I lost you."
Aira froze.
His voice was low, rough around the edges — not calm like it usually was. "When I turned back and you were gone… when I couldn't find you in that damn forest…" He exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair. "I thought that was it. That I'd lost you for good."
Her breath caught. "Aelric…"
He gave a bitter, breathless laugh, shaking his head. "I've been through that forest before. It doesn't let people go. But then— you walked out. Like it changed its mind."
Aira's chest tightened. "Why do you even care that much?" she whispered.
His eyes lifted to hers — calm, but there was something fierce underneath. "I just do."
For a second, the world stopped moving. The wind, the morning light, everything felt suspended in that quiet between them.
Aira looked away first, her voice trembling. "You're so infuriating, you know that?"
"Yeah," he said softly, "I've heard that before."
"You shouldn't have taken the blame," she murmured. "You didn't deserve it."
"Oh really! But I'd do it again," he said simply.
She stared at him. "You're impossible."
"Maybe," he replied, standing. "At least you're still here to argue with me."
She couldn't help it — a small, shaky smile escaped. "You really thought I was gone?"
"I don't think," he said quietly, meeting her gaze again. "I know what it felt like."
For a moment, neither spoke. The sunlight spilled between the trees, catching on his hair, painting his usually distant face with something almost human.
Zara's voice broke through from the dorm window. "Aira! Get back here before they catch us again!"
Aira sighed, half-laughing. "Duty calls."
Aelric's lips curved faintly. "Try not to get lost this time."
"Only if you promise not to take the blame next time."
"No promises," he said, that teasing glint flickering back.
They walked back side by side under the dim courtyard lights. The air smelled like wet leaves and early sunlight. It should've felt like peace — but for Aira, it only felt like the beginning of something she couldn't quite name.
And as she glanced at Aelric from the corner of her eye — quiet, unreadable, and yet so alive in that moment — she realized one thing: she wasn't the only one who'd been scared.
...….
Morning sunlight spilled through the dorm windows, but for Aira, it felt like it was mocking her. After the chaos in the forest, after the screams and illusions, she thought the worst was over — but now she had to face detention. Again.
She trudged down the hall with Zara, Josh, and Aelric. The head tutor, Ms. Velra, was waiting for them at the courtyard gates with her arms crossed and an expression that could freeze fire.
"You four think the forest is a playground?" she snapped. "You'll spend every morning this week cleaning the outer halls. Without magic."
Zara groaned under her breath. Josh tried to laugh it off. Aelric, as usual, just nodded stiffly. Aira, though, said nothing. Her mind wasn't even in the courtyard — it was still in the forest.
When they started sweeping, Zara leaned toward her.
"Hey, you okay? You've been quiet since we got back."
Aira forced a smile. "Yeah. Just tired."
But she wasn't. Her thoughts were loud, tangled — except they weren't filled with those whispers anymore. She blinked, suddenly realizing it.
The voices. The ones that used to whisper her name in the dark, that used to tell her things she didn't want to hear — they were gone.
Gone since she saw him.
Her broom stilled. Aelric noticed immediately.
"What?" he asked, straightening.
Aira hesitated, then looked around. The tutor was gone, Zara and Josh were too busy arguing about who was sweeping slower. So she took a breath and said quietly,
"There's something I didn't tell you guys about the forest."
Zara's head snapped up. "You mean besides getting lost?"
"Yeah. That… and someone I met there."
Josh frowned. "Someone?"
Aira nodded, her voice dropping lower. "The guy from the principal's office photo — the one standing behind Sunny. I saw him. In the forest."
They all froze.
Aelric stepped closer, his eyes narrowing. "You what?"
Aira met his gaze. "I saw him. He spoke to me. And… I don't know how to explain this, but ever since I met him, the voices stopped."
"Voices?" Zara echoed, confused.
Aira swallowed, rubbing her temples. "I used to hear things. Whispers — not mine. But since that night, silence. Nothing."
Josh frowned. "You think he's connected to it?"
"I know he is," she said firmly. "Because every time he's near, everything in my head goes still. It's like he takes the noise with him."
Alaric crossed his arms. "Or maybe he is the noise."
Aira looked at him sharply, her frustration rising. "Then why does it feel calm when he's around? Why does my head stop hurting when he's close?"
No one had an answer.
Finally, Zara spoke up softly. "So what do we do?"
Aira hesitated — her heart pounding now. She could feel the words pressing against her throat, demanding to come out.
"There's more," she whispered.
The others looked at her, confused.
"As I said before, He's the one who tried to kill me during the test," Aira said quietly. "That day, when I lost control… when I almost destroyed everything — it was because of him. He was there. I saw him."
The broom slipped from Zara's hands. "Aira—"
"He pushed me," Aira continued, her voice trembling with anger now. "He made me lose control. He wanted me to. He wanted to see what I could do."
Aelric's expression darkened instantly. "You're saying the same guy who's haunting your dreams is the one who nearly got you killed also he is the one connected to Sunny's disappearnace"
"Yes."
"Then we're finding him," Josh said firmly, the first one to break the silence.
Aira nodded, her eyes fierce. "We find him. We find out who he is, what he wants, and why he was with Sunny. Because I think… I think he's connected to my power. And I'm done running from it."
Alaric's jaw tensed. "And if he's dangerous?"
Aira met his eyes, and for the first time, she didn't look afraid.
"Then I'll handle him."