We burst out of the Sublevel East stairwell just as the second alarm blared through the ceiling speakers—deeper, louder, vibrating through my bones like a heartbeat gone wrong.
WEEOO—WEEOO—WEEOO—
A security alert.
For me.
Horace didn't let go of my hand even for a second.
Cassian placed himself at my right shoulder.
Chandler hovered at my back like a shield.
Rowan ran ahead, scanning the map, muttering curses every time a hallway light flickered red.
We weren't being discreet anymore.
We were running for our lives.
And every corner we turned made it clear—
Someone had locked the Academy down.
Chandler shouted over the alarms, "You said Eliot warned her—WHAT EXACTLY DID HE MEAN?!"
Rowan snapped back, "How the hell should I know? I'm not psychic!"
Horace cut in, voice sharp: "Focus. We get to my tower. That's the only safe place on campus."
Cassian's voice was tight. "Not safe enough. The prefect corps can override your tower's external locks."
Horace glared at him while running. "And how do you know that?"
Cassian didn't answer.
He didn't have to.
The way he avoided Horace's eyes said enough.
He'd overridden those same locks before.
My lungs burned as we sprinted through another corridor—the old classroom wing. The lights flickered overhead, half-on, half-off, making everything feel unreal and jagged.
We reached the top of a set of stairs when—
"THERE!"
A prefect's voice echoed behind us.
Then heavy footsteps.
Fast.
Numerous.
Chandler grabbed my waist and pulled me behind a pillar. "KEEP MOVING!"
Rowan shouted, "Left hallway! Left! Left!"
Horace didn't hesitate—he yanked me in that direction.
Cassian shoved past him and took the lead, scanning corners, memorizing the patrol patterns like he'd lived here longer than any of us.
The thought churned in my stomach.
What had Elliot been doing down here?
And who had been watching him?
My legs screamed as I tried to keep up with the boys, but adrenaline kept my body from collapsing entirely.
We reached a hallway that led to the elite residential towers when suddenly—
The overhead lights turned red.
A robotic voice blared:
"SECTOR D LOCKDOWN IN 60 SECONDS."
Rowan cursed. "Great. They're sealing the outer doors."
Chandler rattled a handle on the hallway door—it didn't budge.
Locked.
"Damn it!" he hissed. "They're boxing us in!"
Cassian stepped beside him and kicked the metal panel so hard it dented.
Horace turned sharply. "Cassian! Can you override it?"
Cassian crouched beside the control panel.
"I can try," he muttered, shoving his hand into the wires. Sparks flew. "But it's not a standard lock. Someone upgraded these."
Rowan pointed. "Vane upgraded them. After Elliot vanished."
My stomach dropped.
Chandler started pacing in a panic. "We can't get trapped here. We can't—"
Horace grabbed him by the arm. "Breathe. Focus."
Chandler clenched his jaw but stopped pacing.
Cassian cursed under his breath. "This wiring is ridiculous—who designed this?!"
Rowan raised his hand. "Blackwell Industries."
Cassian glared at him. "You?!"
"I said my family," Rowan corrected, "not me."
The alarm blared again.
"45 SECONDS."
Cassian yanked wires with increasing desperation. "Come on—come on—"
Rowan leaned over him. "Here. Twist the red and white together."
Cassian hesitated. "That will blow the circuit."
"Exactly," Rowan said.
Horace's eyes widened. "Rowan—"
But Rowan had already grabbed Cassian's wrist and forced the wires together.
A shower of sparks exploded.
The panel screamed with a high-pitched electrical whine.
Then—
click
The door unlocked.
Chandler shoved it open.
"GO!"
We sprinted inside—and just as we cleared the threshold, the automatic lockdown doors slammed shut behind us like a metal jaw.
BOOM—BOOM—BOOM
The boys froze.
Cassian stared at Rowan. "You could've electrocuted us."
Rowan shrugged. "But I didn't."
Chandler stared in disbelief. "You are the most dangerous person I've ever met."
Rowan smiled sweetly. "I try."
Horace wasn't amused.
"Rowan," he said in a low voice, "if you get her killed—"
"I won't," Rowan said simply. "I want answers as much as she does."
Something in his tone was different this time.
Not mocking.
Not playful.
Dead serious.
We ran up another flight of stairs into the elite residential wing—a long marble hallway lined with tall windows and ornate frames.
Empty.
Silent.
Too silent.
Something was wrong.
Cassian stiffened first.
"Wait."
Horace looked at him sharply. "What do you sense?"
Cassian inhaled slowly.
Deeply.
Eyes narrowing.
"Someone's here," he whispered.
Chandler's hand immediately went to the small utility knife he kept hidden in his boot. "Prefects?"
Cassian shook his head. "No. Not them."
Rowan slid his tablet away, voice dropping. "Then who?"
Cassian turned slowly—eyes locking on the far end of the hallway.
"There."
I followed his gaze.
And froze.
At the end of the hall stood a person—
Not a prefect.
Not a teacher.
Not a scent specialist.
A student.
At least… he looked like one.
Tall.
Lean.
Uniform slightly wrinkled.
Black hair falling across his forehead.
He wasn't running.
Wasn't approaching.
He was waiting.
Watching.
My breath caught.
He looked familiar.
Too familiar.
Horace stepped in front of me instantly, blocking the view. "Who are you?"
The boy didn't answer.
Cassian inhaled sharply—eyes going wide.
"Oh my god," Rowan whispered. "No. No way."
Chandler grabbed Rowan. "Who IS that?"
Rowan's voice cracked for the first time since I met him.
"That's— He shouldn't BE here. He—"
Cassian whispered the name like a confession.
"Aiden Valehart."
My stomach dropped.
Valehart.
Cassian's family.
Horace stiffened. "Your brother?"
Cassian didn't answer.
Because Aiden Valehart—Cassian's older brother—had supposedly left the Academy months before Elliot disappeared.
Transferred.
Relocated.
Gone.
But he was standing right there.
Watching us.
Watching me.
Horace moved closer, shielding me like a wall.
"Aiden," Horace said sharply, "students aren't allowed in this wing after curfew. Explain yourself."
Aiden tilted his head slightly—too slow, too deliberate.
When he spoke, his voice was soft.
Almost gentle.
"You shouldn't be here."
The hallway felt colder.
Chandler whispered, "Why is he talking like that?"
Cassian stepped forward. "Aiden. What are you doing?"
Aiden didn't look at him.
Didn't acknowledge his own brother.
His eyes were fixed only on me.
And something in them—
Something dark.
Something knowing.
Something wrong—
Made the air feel like poison.
Rowan stepped closer to Horace. "We need to leave. Now."
Chandler grabbed my arm. "Move."
Cassian went rigid. "He shouldn't know about her."
Horace spoke again, voice sharp. "Aiden. Step aside."
Aiden didn't move.
Instead, he said one sentence that made my blood turn to ice:
"We've been looking for you."
Rowan exhaled sharply. "Oh hell."
Horace's grip on my wrist tightened.
Cassian whispered, "Run."
Chandler grabbed me from behind. "RUN!"
Aiden took one step forward.
And I swear—
His eyes glowed.
Just a flicker.
A fraction.
But enough.
Enough to make every instinct in my body scream.
Horace shouted, "GO—NOW!"
And we ran.
Not from prefects.
Not from alarms.
But from someone Elliot was running from too.
From someone Elliot didn't have time to name.
From someone who knew—
I wasn't supposed to exist here.
A Brother's Shadow
We didn't look back.
Not once.
Horace kept my wrist in a tight, steady hold as we sprinted through the elite residential wing. Cassian stayed close on my right, his breathing sharp and uneven. Chandler guarded my left side fiercely, glancing behind us every two seconds like he expected death to be grabbing at our ankles.
Rowan ran ahead—but for once, he wasn't smirking.
He looked terrified.
Behind us, the sound of footsteps didn't echo.
But we felt them.
Silent.
Measured.
Unhurried.
Aiden wasn't chasing us.
He was following.
Like he knew we wouldn't get far.
Like he had time.
Horace pulled me behind a corner, and we pressed against the wall as Chandler and Cassian blocked the hall.
Rowan leaned out just enough to see the end of the corridor.
His breath hitched.
"He's still coming," Rowan whispered.
Chandler cursed loudly. "HOW?! He's not even running—"
"He doesn't need to," Rowan snapped. "He knows every blind spot, every patrol gap, every security glitch. He's not chasing us."
Cassian's voice cracked for the first time:
"He's herding us."
My blood went ice cold.
Horace moved closer to me, arm brushing mine, voice low. "Stay behind me."
I nodded, breath shaking.
Cassian inhaled sharply, fists clenched until his knuckles turned white. "This is my fault."
Chandler whipped around. "OH, suddenly you're admitting things?!"
"Not that," Cassian snapped. "Aiden wasn't supposed to be here. He was terminated from prefect duties—removed from campus. My family—"
He bit off the sentence, jaw locking.
Horace glared. "Your family what, Cassian?"
Cassian's throat worked as he struggled to speak.
"My family hid him," Cassian whispered. "I thought it was for health reasons. He… he wasn't stable anymore. He wasn't supposed to come near the Academy again."
"Not stable?" Rowan repeated. "Define 'not stable.'"
Cassian swallowed hard.
"His scent," Cassian said quietly. "It changed. Became unpredictable. Unreadable. They thought it was a hormonal rupture but—"
A voice floated down the hallway.
Soft.
Almost tender.
"No one likes being talked about in the third person."
We all froze.
Aiden stepped into view again.
He was closer than before.
Much closer.
I didn't hear him move.
I didn't see him move.
One moment he was at the far end.
The next—
Only a few meters away.
His eyes—dark, glassy—shifted to me.
And he smiled.
Not wide.
Not unnatural.
Just wrong.
Horace immediately stepped forward, blocking me entirely.
"Aiden Valehart," Horace said sharply. "I command you as Crown Prince to stand down."
Aiden blinked slowly.
Then tilted his head.
"That's not how this works, Your Highness."
The lights flickered overhead.
Chandler whispered, "Oh great. He doesn't respect the prince. That's comforting."
Rowan elbowed him. "Shut up."
Cassian stepped forward—voice shaking but strong.
"Aiden," he said, "look at me."
Aiden smiled faintly.
"I see you, little brother."
Cassian froze.
"And I see her."
My breath hitched.
Horace pressed back silently, shielding me further.
Cassian's voice cracked. "Aiden, don't do this. I don't know what you've been told—but she's not who you think she is."
Aiden's head turned slightly toward Cassian.
"Isn't she?"
Rowan whispered under his breath, "We're dead."
Chandler shoved Rowan lightly. "Stop saying that—we're not dead."
Rowan didn't respond.
Because Aiden stepped closer.
Very slow.
Very calm.
Almost gentle.
"Elliot was fast," Aiden murmured, "but he wasn't quiet."
My heart plummeted.
Aiden's gaze flicked to me.
"You're quiet."
Cassian's composure finally shattered.
"AIDEN—STOP!"
Aiden stopped.
But not because Cassian yelled.
Because someone else entered the hallway from behind him.
A scent.
Sharp.
Crisp.
Distinct.
My heart stuttered.
Horace went still.
Chandler's eyes widened.
Rowan muttered, "Oh, you've GOT to be kidding me—"
A second figure stepped out from the shadows.
Julieta.
Perfect posture.
Braided hair.
Uniform spotless even at night.
Her eyes locked on me.
Not surprised.
Not confused.
Prepared.
Cassian swore under his breath. "No. No—Julieta?"
Chandler's face twisted. "HER?!"
Rowan groaned. "This is officially a nightmare."
Julieta's voice was soft.
But icy.
"Elleanore Fonze," she said. "You need to come with us."
Horace barked, "Over my dead body."
Julieta didn't blink. "That can be arranged."
Chandler stepped in front of me, knife in hand. "Try it."
Cassian moved between the two groups immediately. "Julieta, what the hell are you doing?"
Julieta tilted her head.
"They told you to stay away," she said coldly. "But you never listen. You never did."
Cassian's voice broke. "I trusted you."
Julieta didn't react.
Instead, she addressed the hallway like it was routine:
"Target identified. Condition confirmed. Omega disguised as Alpha. Confirming Elliot Fonze's last trace."
My world tilted.
Horace swore. Chandler gasped. Rowan whispered, "This is very, very bad."
Aiden's eyes sharpened.
He stepped forward—
And Cassian snapped.
"NO!"
He rushed forward, faster than I'd ever seen him move, slamming Aiden back into the wall. The sound echoed down the hall.
Aiden didn't flinch.
Not even a wince.
He simply turned his head toward Cassian like he was examining a new toy.
"Still weak," Aiden murmured. "Still slower than me."
Cassian's hands trembled. "Don't touch her. Don't even speak her name."
Aiden blinked.
"Why?"
Cassian's voice shook in anger. "Because Elliot protected her."
Aiden's expression changed.
Slightly.
Dangerously.
"He tried."
My knees buckled.
Horace caught me instantly, supporting me with both hands.
"Elleanore," he whispered urgently, "you're safe. Stay with me."
Julieta stepped forward—calm, efficient, trained.
"Hand her over," Julieta said. "We don't need to hurt any of you."
Chandler laughed—broken and furious. "Oh really? Because you brought THIS—"
He gestured violently at Aiden.
"—with you?!"
Julieta didn't flinch. "Aiden is simply escorting. He's very good at catching runaways."
Cassian whispered, voice low with horror, "You turned him into a hunter."
Julieta said nothing.
Aiden spoke instead.
"She smells like him."
My heartbeat stopped.
Horace snarled, "Enough—"
Aiden continued, staring directly at me.
"She smells like Elliot."
The hallway fell into absolute silence.
Even the alarms seemed quieter.
Horace's grip tightened around me.
Cassian's breath hitched.
Chandler's knife hand shook.
Rowan's eyes widened behind his glasses.
Aiden's voice softened to a chilling whisper.
"That's why we need her."
Julieta nodded once. "Bring her, Aiden."
Aiden stepped forward.
Rowan shouted, "RUN!"
Cassian shoved Aiden back.
Chandler grabbed my arm.
Horace lifted me half off the ground in panic.
And the five of us bolted down the hall—
With Aiden Valehart walking silently behind us.
Not chasing.
Not rushing.
Just following.
Because he already knew—
We would run.
And he would catch us.
Like he caught Elliot.