Elara stared at the page long after the ink had dried.
Her name was still glowing faintly on the next page- like the book was watching her now.
She felt strange.Not scared. Not exactly.Just... different.
Like a part of her was floating just above her skin, ready to peel off if she blinked too hard.
She reached out to close the book- but it closed itself.
Snap.
The sound made her jump.
She pushed the Grimoire aside and turned to the window. The night was still. Too still.Not even the crickets dared to make a sound anymore.
Then:Knock. Knock. Knock.
Three soft taps on her door.
She froze.
"Elara," a voice whispered. "It's me."
Cassian.
She opened the door quickly. He stood there, hoodie pulled up, eyes tired but sharp. Like he hadn't slept in days.
"You read it," he said, stepping inside without asking.
"Yes."She picked the book up, held it like it might bite her. "It showed me Maris. She's not dead, Cassian. She's alive. Somewhere... down there."
He nodded slowly, like he already knew.
"I told you," he said. "The Grimoire shows things. It shows truths- but never the whole truth."
He pulled up a chair and sat down, arms crossed. "What did she say?"
Elara looked down. "She said I should stop. That the book doesn't care about saving anyone."
Cassian's jaw clenched. "It doesn't. It never has."
For a moment, the room was silent except for the quiet hum of the book.
Elara watched him. "You've read it too, haven't you?"
He didn't answer right away.
Then he nodded once.
"I read it when I was thirteen. Thought I was brave. Thought I could find my brother."
"Your brother?"
Cassian sighed. "He vanished. Same as Maris. No goodbye. No trace. My family went mad looking. I found this book in the school's old archives. It spoke to me, just like it's speaking to you now."
Elara sat on her bed, fingers tightening around the book's edges. "Did it show you where he was?"
Cassian's eyes darkened. "It showed me... pieces. Dreams. Shadows. Just enough to keep me chasing."
Elara looked at the book, now glowing softly in the dim light. "But if we can still see them- if they're alive, can't we bring them back?"
"That's what the Grimoire wants you to think," Cassian said, voice low. "It gives you just enough hope to keep you reading. And the more you read, the more it takes from you."
She looked down at her wrist. The spiral was still there. A little darker now.
"What happens if I don't stop?" she whispered.
Cassian stood. "You start losing your memories. Your voice. Yourself. You'll speak in riddles. You'll dream in symbols. You'll forget who you are and only remember who the book wants you to be."
Elara hugged her knees. Her voice was small. "But I can't just leave her, Cassian."
He turned to her.
"I know," he said softly. "I didn't leave my brother either."
There was a long silence.
Then Cassian took a small notebook out of his pocket; worn leather, faded writing on the cover.
He handed it to her.
"This is everything I learned from the Grimoire before I stopped reading. Symbols. Spells. Places beneath the school. Things no one talks about."
Elara took it with shaky hands. "Why give this to me?"
Cassian looked her in the eyes.
"Because you've already opened the door. I'd rather you walk through it prepared than walk alone."
Somewhere deep below the school, in a hallway that didn't exist on any map, a soft voice whispered through the air:
"She's coming."
A red spiral on the wall began to glow.