Orientation: Smile or Die

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.