The Priestess stepped forward again, and this time the shadows didn’t merely rise between us. They lashed across the entrance hall hard enough to crack stone pillars near the doors while the entire Academy trembled around us.
Barlen grabbed my arm and pulled me backward just as black fog exploded across the floor where I’d been standing a second earlier.
The Priestess’ eyes flashed. “You think the Academy chose you?”
“I’m getting that impression,” I said, though my voice came out thinner than I wanted.
Her gaze sharpened instantly at the fear slipping through my words.
“Oh, Maeve.” She smiled then, but there wasn’t anything warm left in it now. “You truly don’t understand what this place is.”
The Academy groaned beneath us again.
Like something deep inside the walls was waking too quickly.
The warmth pulsing through the corridors moments ago suddenly intensified until every silver lantern burned almost blindingly bright. Shadows raced along the ceilings while the staircases shifted loudly behind us, stone grinding against stone as entire sections of the Academy rearranged themselves.
Barlen looked around wildly. “It’s unstable.”
The Priestess laughed softly outside the doors. “Of course it is. The Academy was never meant to awaken this fast.”
A sharp pulse shot through my birthmark hard enough that I physically doubled over.
Pain ripped across my ribs while silver light flashed beneath my skin, and the shadows nearest me immediately surged closer in response.
Barlen caught my shoulders. “Maeve.”
“I’m fine,” I lied through clenched teeth.
Another pulse hit that was stronger this time.
The silver markings spreading across the walls suddenly raced higher toward the ceiling while the enormous staircase behind us split directly down the center.
My head jerked upward.
A hidden passage slowly revealed itself above the stairs, dark and ancient and definitely not there earlier.
The Priestess saw it, and genuine panic crossed her face.
“No.” The word cracked through the air.
Every shadow surrounding her writhed violently.
Barlen stared upward at the hidden passage. “What is that?”
But the Priestess answered first.
“The Shadow Chamber.” The way she said it sent ice straight through my chest.
My shadow mark burned so fiercely now that tears sprang into my eyes.
The Priestess took another step, but this time, the shadows didn’t stop her immediately.
They hesitated, and suddenly every instinct inside me screamed.
The Academy wasn’t fully awake yet.
It was struggling.
