“I’m your escort.”
“Bullshit.”
Those pale eyes flash, something darker beneath the glow.
“You’ve already drawn too much attention,” he says, stepping closer. No sound from his long jacket. No shift of air. He's just there. “Stay here, and you’ll be dead within days. Or worse.”
The letter flares on the table—bright, insistent, punctuating his words.
My mouth is dry. “You think I’m going with you?”
“I think,” he says softly, eyes glinting cold, “you don’t have a choice.”
He lifts a hand. The air tears, darkness slicing open beside him. Shadows writhe into what can only be called a portal, runes flickering cold and bright along its edges. I’ve watched enough ofCharmedandBuffyto know a portal when I see one.
Almost every instinct screams:don’t trust him.
But the loudest one, the one I can’t ignore, says:follow.
He steps through first and doesn’t look back. He stops just beyond the threshold. Turns only his head to look at me. Moon-pale eyes meet mine.
“Come.” The word is a low and cold command that hums through every nerve. “Or stay here…and burn.”
His mouth twitches into almost a sneer before he turns his back and strides deeper into the shadows.
TWO
LINDSAY
I step through the portal,and the world rips out from under me.
There’s no floor. No sky. No air.
Just color and sound and motion; too much of it. Gold threads spiral past my skin like veins of lightning. Deep violet shadows curl around my ankles. I’m falling and floating at the same time, weightless and heavy. A low thrumming fills my ears, deeper than sound, like something old is watching and measuring.
I choke back a curse. My stomach flips, my head spins, my body has no clue which way is up. This is worse than the single time I went on a roller coaster. So much worse. I’m going to be sick.
"Should’ve stayed in bed," I mutter through gritted teeth, my voice snatched away by the windless pressure.
The threads tighten. The shadows pulse.
Then…snap. My feet hit solid ground. Hard enough to rattle my teeth. I stagger forward, grab empty air, and nearly eat cobblestone.
Cobblestone?
I shake my head to clear it. What kind of Alice in Wonderland shit is this?
The man from the diner stands a pace ahead. Completely unruffled. Like we didn’t just step through a goddamn dimensional blender.
I suck in a shaky breath.
The portal is gone. Nothing but a towering iron gate stands in front of us now, runes writhing across the bars as if they are alive. Beyond it is a castle. Not a fairy tale one. Not even Hogwarts.
This place is awake. The stone breathes. The spires twist high into a sky that looks too dark for daylight, ink-black clouds veined with silver and blue that matches my hair. Arched windows glow from within, deep crimson and amber. Iron balconies hang at impossible angles, tilting sideways in ways no one could actually use.
The whole place almost seems to vibrate with something I can't name, low and constant. A pulse I can feel in my bones. My mouth goes dry. This isn’t a school. It’s a predator, dressed in stone. I wouldn't be surprised if real-life gargoyles perch on the rooftops, ready to swoop down and carry you off, and Dracula roams the halls.
Definitely not in Kansas anymore. The gates shudder. Then creak open with a groan that feels too loud in the still air. A figure waits just beyond.
