Through the Fog Gates

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.”