The rain was hammering my bedroom window like it wanted inside.

I was halfway through shoving cold pizza into my mouth when the knock came. Three sharp raps. Too polite for this neighborhood.

I froze. Mom was at her night shift. No one else ever came here.

“Probably a wrong address,” I muttered, wiping my hands on my hoodie. But when I cracked the door, the hallway was empty.

Only a black envelope lay on the welcome mat.

No stamp. No return address. Just my name in silver ink that seemed to… shimmer.

*Liora Vale.*

My stomach did a weird flip. I picked it up. The paper was thick, expensive, and ice-cold even though it had been sitting in the rain.

I should’ve thrown it away.

Instead I tore it open right there in the doorway.

Inside was a single sheet of cream paper and a black iron key on a thin chain.

**You have been selected.**

**Nightmare Academy awaits.**

**The gates open at midnight. Do not be late.**

**— The Headmaster**

A laugh bubbled out of me. “Yeah, right. Some prank.”

But the key was warm now, pulsing against my palm like a heartbeat.

I told myself I wasn’t going.

Yet at 11:47 p.m. I was standing at the bus stop in my only decent jeans and a backpack full of clothes I probably wouldn’t need. The night air tasted metallic, like blood and fog.

The bus that arrived wasn’t normal. No lights. No driver visible. Just black windows and the door hissing open like it had been waiting for me.

I stepped on anyway.

Because what else did I have? A dead-end town, a mom who barely remembered my name, and a sister who disappeared last year after getting the same kind of envelope.

The ride was silent. Too silent.

I stared at my reflection in the dark glass. Pale face, messy dark hair, eyes that looked way too wide. “You’re being stupid, Liora,” I whispered.

The bus stopped in the middle of nowhere.

Fog so thick I couldn’t see my own shoes.

And there they were—massive iron gates twisted into screaming faces, creaking open on their own.

Behind them, a castle rose out of the mist like it had clawed its way up from hell. Gothic spires, black stone, windows glowing blood-red.

A sign above the gates read in flickering letters:

**NIGHTMARE ACADEMY**

**Survive the Trials. Or Become One.**

My heart slammed against my ribs.

I took one step forward—

And the key around my neck burned hot enough to make me gasp.

That’s when I felt it.

Eyes on me. Dozens of them. From the shadows between the trees. From the windows of the castle.

Watching.

Waiting.

A low voice slid through the fog, smooth as silk and twice as dangerous.

“Fresh meat.”

I spun around.

He was leaning against the gatepost like he owned the night itself—tall, dark hair falling into cruel silver eyes, tattoos crawling up his neck like living shadows. A black uniform hugged muscles that definitely didn’t belong on a teenager.

Kael Voss.

I didn’t know his name yet, but something in my bones already did.

He pushed off the stone and stalked closer, stopping just inches away. The air between us crackled.

“You’re early, little echo,” he murmured, voice low enough to make my stomach tighten. “Most new bloods cry by now.”

I lifted my chin even though my legs wanted to run. “And most gatekeepers don’t look like they eat souls for breakfast.”

His lips curved into something that wasn’t quite a smile.

“Careful. I might like the way you taste when you scream.”

Behind him, the gates slammed shut with a sound like bones breaking.

The fog swallowed the road back home.

No way out.

And that’s when the first scream ripped through the castle—high, broken, and far too familiar.

My dead sister’s voice.

The scream tore through the fog like a knife across my throat.

My sister’s voice. Mira.

I stumbled backward, hand flying to the key burning against my chest. “Mira?!”

The word came out cracked, pathetic.

Kael Voss didn’t even flinch. He just watched me with those silver eyes that looked like they’d seen a thousand girls break and enjoyed every second.

“Careful, little echo,” he said again, voice low and velvet-rough. “Some things here like to wear familiar faces.”

I wanted to slap him. I wanted to run. Instead I shoved past him, boots sinking into the wet gravel. “That was my sister. She disappeared last year. If this is some sick joke—”

His hand shot out and caught my wrist. Not hard enough to hurt, but firm enough that heat shot straight up my arm. His skin was ice-cold, yet somehow it burned.

“Jokes are for children,” he murmured, stepping so close I could smell him—cedar, smoke, and something darker, like midnight rain on graves. “This is orientation. And you’re already bleeding attention.”

I yanked my arm free, heart hammering so loud I was sure he could hear it. “Then let me go find her.”

He laughed once, soft and dangerous. “No one finds the ones who don’t wake up. They find you.”

The gates groaned behind us like they were laughing too. The fog swirled thicker, wrapping around my ankles like invisible fingers trying to drag me down.

I forced myself forward anyway. The path was lined with black lanterns that flickered with blue flame instead of orange. Each one cast shadows that moved wrong—too long, too many limbs.

Kael fell into step beside me, hands in his pockets like this was a casual stroll through hell. “Most new bloods throw up by now. Or cry. You’re doing neither.”

“Give me time,” I muttered. “I’m pacing myself.”

A smirk tugged at his mouth. God, even that looked lethal. “Echo Blood. They told me you were coming. Didn’t tell me you’d be this… loud.”

I stopped dead. “How do you know about my blood?”

He leaned in, breath brushing my ear. “Because I’m the one who’s supposed to break you before the Trials even start.”

My stomach flipped. Not fear. Something worse. Something that made my pulse stutter and my skin feel too tight.

Before I could snap back, the castle doors swung open on their own. Massive oak things carved with screaming faces that seemed to follow us with empty eyes.

Warm air rolled out—too warm, like standing inside a mouth. Candles floated in mid-air, lighting a hallway that stretched forever. Marble floors veined with silver that pulsed like veins. Tapestries on the walls showed students running from things with too many teeth.

And people.

Dozens of them in crisp black uniforms, staring. Some whispered. Some smiled like they already knew how I was going to die.

A girl with glossy black hair and blood-red lips stepped forward first. Her uniform hugged every curve like it was painted on. Feathers—actual razor-sharp feathers—glinted at her collar.

“Fresh meat,” she purred, echoing Kael’s earlier words. “I’m Seraphina Crowe. But everyone calls me Sera. Try to keep up, scholarship girl.”

Behind her, a shy-looking boy with messy brown hair and glasses clutched a notebook like a shield. His eyes darted everywhere like he was listening to voices no one else could hear.

“Eli,” he whispered. “Elias Thorn. Welcome… I think.”

I opened my mouth to answer—

The lights flickered.

Every candle went out at once.

Darkness swallowed the hall.

Then the whispers started.

Hundreds of them. Crawling out of the walls, slithering across the floor.

*“Liora… come play…”*

*“Echo… echo… echo…”*

*“Your sister says hello…”*

I clamped my hands over my ears. My blood roared in my head. That power I’d always tried to ignore—the one that made nightmares bleed into real life—surged hot under my skin.

Kael’s hand found my lower back this time. Steady. Possessive. Like he was claiming territory. “Breathe,” he ordered, voice right against my hair. “Or the fog will take the breath for you.”

I sucked in air that tasted like rust and roses. The lights snapped back on.

But the whispers didn’t stop.

They laughed.

Sera’s smile sharpened. “First night and already the Entity’s calling your name. Cute.”

Eli’s face went pale. “It never does that on orientation. Never.”

Kael’s fingers pressed harder against my spine. “Means she’s special. Means she’s mine to watch.”

I spun on him, cheeks burning. “I’m not anyone’s—”

The grand staircase at the end of the hall lit up with crimson light.

A woman descended.

Professor Vespera Nyx.

Silk dress the color of old blood. Horns curling from her temples like a crown. Smile so perfect it made my teeth ache.

“Students,” she called, voice sweet enough to rot candy. “Welcome to Nightmare Academy. Orientation begins now.”

Her eyes locked on me.

And for one heartbeat, they flashed solid black.

“Especially you, Miss Vale. The Headmaster has been waiting.”

The whispers exploded into a single word that rattled my bones:

*“Queen.”*

Kael’s grip tightened like he wanted to pull me behind him. Or drag me closer.

I didn’t know which.

And I didn’t get the chance to ask.

Because the floor beneath us cracked open.

Not metaphorically.

Literally.

A jagged black rift split the marble, and something with glowing red eyes crawled out—reaching straight for my ankle.

Sera’s feathers exploded into blades. Eli screamed.

Kael shoved me back, shadows pouring from his hands like living smoke.

But the thing was fast.

Its claws grazed my skin.

Pain like fire.

And then its voice—my sister’s voice again—whispered right in my ear:

“Run, Liora. Before they make you the new cage.”

The rift snapped shut.

The creature vanished.

But the blood on my ankle was real.

And Kael was staring at it like he wanted to taste it.

The pain on my ankle burned like someone had poured liquid fire straight into my veins.

I hissed through my teeth, clutching Kael’s arm without thinking. His shadows were still curling around us like a protective cage, but his silver eyes were locked on the blood trickling down my skin.

He looked… hungry.

“Get it together,” I snapped, yanking my hand back. My voice shook more than I wanted it to.

Professor Vespera Nyx glided down the last step like the floor itself was too scared to make her trip. Her horns caught the candlelight, throwing devilish shadows across her perfect face. That smile never wavered. It stretched wider, actually, like the rift that had just tried to eat me was the most delightful thing she’d seen all year.

“Students,” she sang, voice dripping honey over broken glass. “A little early excitement for our newest arrival. How charming.”

The hall went dead silent. Even the floating candles seemed to hold their breath.

Sera flicked her razor feathers back into place, one perfect eyebrow raised. “Charming? That thing almost took her leg off on night one.”

Eli pushed his glasses up, pale as milk. “It… it called her Queen. The walls are still whispering it.”

Kael’s hand stayed on my lower back, thumb brushing the edge of my spine like he was marking me. “She’s bleeding Echo Blood. The Entity noticed first.” His voice was low, only for me. “And so did I.”

Professor Nyx clapped once. The sound cracked like a whip. Every student snapped to attention, smiles plastered on their faces so fast it was creepy.

“Smile, darlings,” she cooed. “At Nightmare Academy, we smile through the fear. It makes the nightmares… hungrier.”

She gestured to the grand staircase. The marble steps now glowed with faint red runes that pulsed like heartbeats. “Orientation is simple. Three rules. Break them and you feed the Trials early.”

I forced my face into something that probably looked more like a grimace than a smile. My ankle throbbed in time with the runes.

“Rule One,” Nyx continued, circling us like a shark in silk. “The Dream Realm opens at midnight. Every student enters. Every student survives… or doesn’t.”

A few older kids in the back chuckled like she’d told a joke. One of them had a scar shaped like claw marks across his throat.

“Rule Two,” she went on. “No one speaks of what happens in the Trials outside these walls. The fog listens. The Entity listens.” Her black eyes flicked to me again. “Especially those with gifts they shouldn’t have.”

My stomach dropped. She knew. Everyone knew.

Kael’s fingers pressed harder, almost reassuring. Almost.

“Rule Three,” Nyx finished, stopping right in front of me. Up close her perfume smelled like graveyard roses and smoke. “Trust no one. Especially not the ones who touch you like they own you.”

She looked pointedly at Kael’s hand on my back.

He didn’t move it.

The professor’s smile sharpened. “Welcome to your new home, Liora Vale. The Headmaster sends his regards… and a personal invitation to the first Trial.”

Gasps rippled through the crowd.

Sera’s feathers rustled. “Personal? That’s never happened.”

Eli whispered, “The walls say she’s the key. The cage is cracking.”

I opened my mouth to demand answers—about Mira, about the blood, about why the hell everyone was staring at me like I was already dead—

But Nyx snapped her fingers.

The air rippled.

Black envelopes appeared in every student’s hands. Mine was thicker. Sealed with a wax stamp that looked like a screaming mouth.

“Room assignments,” she announced brightly. “Dormitory Wing 13 for the special ones. Lights out in thirty minutes. Try not to die before midnight.”

The crowd started moving, but Kael didn’t let me go. His breath brushed my ear again. “Wing 13 isn’t for students, little echo. It’s for bait.”

I shivered. Not from the cold. “Then why am I there?”

“Because I requested it.” His voice dropped to pure sin. “And because if you’re going to burn this place down, I want front-row seats when you scream my name.”

Before I could shove him off, Sera looped her arm through mine like we’d been besties forever. “Come on, scholarship girl. I’ll show you the way. Pretty sure Kael’s already planning how to sneak into your room later.”

Eli trailed behind us, muttering to the walls. “They’re excited. They like her blood.”

The hallway to the dorms twisted like a living thing. Portraits of past students watched us—some smiling, some mid-scream, eyes following every step.

We stopped at a heavy iron door marked 13 in dripping silver.

The moment I touched the handle, it burned the same way the key had.

Inside: four beds draped in black silk. Windows that looked out into endless fog. A mirror on the far wall that didn’t show my reflection—yet.

Sera flopped onto the bed closest to the door. “Bunk with me if you want to live past week one.”

Eli hovered by the wall, ear pressed to it. “They’re talking about your sister again.”

Kael leaned in the doorway, arms crossed, shadows dancing at his feet. “Sleep lightly, Vale. The Trials don’t wait for anyone.”

He turned to leave, but paused. Those silver eyes met mine across the room.

“Try not to bleed too much tonight. I hate sharing.”

The door slammed shut behind him.

The lights flickered once.

And in the mirror that still wasn’t showing me…

Mira’s face appeared for half a second.

Mouth open in a silent scream.

Pointing straight at the floor beneath my bed.

Where something was already scratching.