The school was silent.
At night, San Aurelio Secondary felt like an entirely different place—its long hallways stretched endlessly into shadow, and the portraits of long-dead headmasters seemed to watch with cold, glassy eyes.
Bella's breath echoed too loudly in her ears as she clutched her flashlight. Every creak of the wooden floors made her flinch. "This is a bad idea," she whispered.
Nia walked ahead, calm as ever, her golden eyes flashing in the beam of her light. Kiro padded silently at her side, his fur bristling. "Bad ideas," Nia said lightly, "are usually the most interesting ones."
Amira followed close behind Bella, holding her sketchbook tight against her chest. "I still don't understand why we're doing this," she murmured, though her wide violet eyes betrayed her curiosity. "If we get caught—"
"Then we'll say we got lost," Nia interrupted. "Relax."
But even she lowered her voice as they turned down the stairs to the basement.
The heavy air seemed to thicken with each step. The dim glow of their flashlights bounced across stone walls, revealing cobwebs and old storage crates. The further they went, the colder it became, until Bella's breath formed faint clouds in the air.
Finally, they reached it.
The wall.
It looked just as it had before: a crumbling stretch of stone, marked by strange curved carvings. But tonight, the symbols were brighter, glowing faintly as if the storm outside had awakened something buried deep within.
Bella's stomach tightened. "You see that, right?"
Amira nodded, already pulling out her pencil to sketch, though her hand trembled. "It's… brighter."
Nia stepped forward, reaching out. Kiro growled low, but Nia didn't pull back. Her fingers hovered over the carvings. "Feels… warm," she muttered, surprise flickering in her voice.
Bella found herself leaning closer. The glow wasn't just light—it was alive, pulsing faintly like a heartbeat. She could almost hear it if she concentrated, a faint thrum beneath her skin.
Without warning, the ground trembled.
The three girls staggered back as dust rained from the ceiling. The symbols blazed, filling the basement with golden light. Amira cried out, dropping her sketchbook, the pages scattering across the floor. Bella shielded her eyes, but she couldn't look away.
The carvings were no longer carvings.
They were a door.
Stone shifted, sliding apart with the sound of grinding rock. The wall opened into a dark archway, deeper than it should have been, as though it tunneled into another world. A rush of cold air poured through, carrying the scent of pine and rain—impossible scents for a basement.
Amira's voice shook. "It's… a passage."
Bella's heart hammered in her chest. "But to where?"
Nia smirked, though even she couldn't hide the awe in her tone. "Only one way to find out."
Before Bella could protest, Nia stepped forward, Kiro padding fearlessly into the glowing arch. The wolf disappeared first, swallowed by the dark. Nia followed, her outline shimmering briefly in the light before vanishing too.
"Wait!" Bella cried, but Nia was gone.
Amira looked at Bella, terrified. "We can't—"
But the passage pulsed again, calling to them. The glow pressed against Bella's skin like a heartbeat, insistent. She knew, with a certainty that made no sense, that if she turned away now, she would regret it forever.
She grabbed Amira's hand. "Come on."
Together, they stepped into the gate.
The world shifted.
For a moment, there was only light—blinding and endless—then the ground vanished beneath their feet. They fell, weightless, tumbling through colors and shapes that made no sense. Trees, stars, rivers, and shadows spun around them, as though the universe itself was unfolding in flashes.
Then, with a jolt, they landed.
The air was crisp, cool, and filled with the scent of pine. They lay sprawled on damp grass, the night sky above them scattered with two moons—one pale silver, the other glowing faintly blue.
Amira gasped, eyes wide. "This… this isn't Spain."
Bella sat up, staring in awe at the towering trees that seemed older than time, their leaves shimmering faintly with silver veins. A river ran nearby, glowing faintly as though it held stars in its depths.
And standing in the clearing ahead, her golden eyes shining like fire in the moonlight, was Nia. Kiro stood beside her, hackles raised, staring into the dark forest beyond.
Bella's breath caught as she followed his gaze.
Something was moving in the shadows.
Something watching them.