The soft chime of Ivy's alarm barely stirred her.
She lay still, the heaviness of dreams clinging like fog.
Her palm itched faintly, and when she finally sat up, the same symbol she'd seen in her dream the one carved into the tree and etched on her mother's locketnlingered in a faint reddish hue before fading into her skin.
She blinked against the dim morning light, wrapping her blanket tighter.
The room was quiet except for Celeste rustling on the other bed.
"Morning," Celeste said with a sleepy yawn.
She glanced at Ivy, frowning slightly. "You look like you didn't sleep."
"Didn't," Ivy replied softly.
"Dreams again. Weird ones."
Celeste sat up, brushing her hair back.
"You don't have to talk about it unless you want to.
But if you ever do... I'm here."
There was something in the way she said it that comforted Ivy more than she expected.
They ate breakfast quietly in the dining hall, surrounded by the buzz of chattering students.
Ivy picked at her food, half-listening to a group nearby talking about the upcoming Welcome Back Party.
"It's this Saturday, right?" one girl said.
"By the lake. Bonfire, music, whole shebang."
"Velmire's tradition," another replied.
"They say something always happens at those parties."
Celeste nudged Ivy gently. "We should go. Might help clear your head."
Ivy managed a small smile. "Maybe.
But I've never been to a party before."
Then this would be your first "Celeste retorted smiling sheepishly."
The morning mist curled low around the cobblestone path as they walked to class.
Ivy clutched her notebook to her chest, letting the hush of the grounds soak in, she has been trying hard to memorize her classes, but lacks the ability to focus.
They passed an old statue of a cloaked scholar, moss creeping up the sides. Ivy slowed, gaze catching on a faint carving at its base the same sigil again.
She stared, heart ticking faster.
Had it always been there?
"Ivy?" Celeste called, already a few paces ahead.
Ivy shook her head and jogged to catch up, not trusting her voice.
At this point she was terrified.
As they approached the literature building, a girl with silver hair Maera passed them without a word.
But her pale eyes flicked toward Ivy for a split second.
Recognition?
Warning?
Ivy couldn't tell.
Their Literature professor, a lean man with glasses too large for his face, began with a lecture on metaphor and symbolism in contemporary fiction.
"Sometimes," he said, tapping the board, "truth hides behind symbols. It's our job to interpret the shadows."
He wrote a symbol onto the board. Ivy's breath caught.
It was the same one. Exactly.
She looked around, expecting someone to react but no one did. No glances, no whispers.
"Professor?" Ivy raised her hand. "What does that symbol mean exactly? I've seen it before."
He paused, blinked. "Hmm? Ah, just a stylistic choice. Some old mythologies used it for protection, I believe. Moving on."
He erased it swiftly.
Ivy leaned toward Steven. "You saw that, right?"
He gave her a confused look. "Saw what?"
After class, the hallway buzzed with students. Ivy stepped aside to check her schedule and nearly collided with Blaire Wyland.
"Watch it, freak," he sneered.
She opened her mouth to retort, but he leaned closer.
"Some secrets aren't meant for freshmen," he whispered, then walked off before she could respond.
Celeste appeared beside her. "He really needs to trip and fall into a pit. You okay?"
Ivy nodded, but her heart beat a little too fast.
That afternoon, she escaped into the library while Celeste napped. Between tall, dimly lit shelves, she wandered. Her fingers brushed along spines, comforted by the musty smell of old pages.
She rounded a corner and nearly bumped into someone.
Maera.
The girl stepped back with graceful ease, her voice barely above a whisper. "You've been waking early."
Ivy blinked. "Insomnia's a student perk."
Maera tilted her head. "Paths open when dreams are restless."
Before Ivy could ask what she meant, Maera turned and disappeared into the shadows between shelves.
Later, Ivy and Celeste sat on a quiet bench overlooking the courtyard, open books on their laps.
"I feel like everything I know is twisted," Ivy said, watching a leaf float down.
"Twist it back," Celeste replied simply.
Ivy smiled faintly. "You're good at this whole mysterious wisdom thing."
Celeste laughed. "You bring it out in me."
That night, the lamps lining the path flickered as Ivy returned to her dorm. The courtyard was silent except for the rustling wind. Her steps slowed when she saw someone standing beneath one of the old trees.
Lucien.
He didn't move. Just watched.
She hesitated. Their eyes met across the space or maybe she only imagined it. Then, he turned and vanished into the deeper shadows of the trees.
When she finally entered her room, the window was open.
A single black feather lay on her pillow.
And somewhere outside, the party flyers fluttered across the bulletin boards:
Welcome Back Celebration Saturday @ Lake Velmire - Music, Bonfire, Masks Encouraged For Freshmen and Returning Students Alike
"Let the Night Welcome You."