The hooded figure stepped into the moonlight.
Seraphina froze. Her voice barely rose above a whisper."Mara?"
It couldn't be. Mara Lin had vanished months ago Lila Carter's roommate, Seraphina's childhood friend, and the academy's most whispered-about disappearance.
"You were supposed to be dead," Levi said, jaw tight.
Mara laughed, low and sharp. "I was supposed to be a lot of things. Dead was just the one they could never quite make stick."
She pulled back her hood. Her face was pale, eyes rimmed with exhaustion and fury. A scar ran just beneath her collarbone proof of whatever had nearly killed her.
"You want to know the truth about Lila?" she said, eyes locking onto Seraphina. "Then you better be ready to lose everything."
Seraphina's breath hitched. "Tell me."
Mara hesitated, then tossed a folded file at her feet. "This is just the beginning. They covered up Lila's murder and mine. We were experiments, Sera. Subjects. You're next."
Levi grabbed her hand before she could move. "We need to get out of here. Now."
But Seraphina didn't move. Her eyes stayed on Mara, her voice steady despite the chaos tearing inside her.
"No. I'm done running. I want the truth."
The garden lights flickered.
And behind them, someone else was watching.