Elara sat at her desk long after Cassian left.
His notebook felt heavier than it looked.The leather was cracked at the corners, and the pages inside were filled with small, messy writing.Some lines were underlined in red.Others had strange symbols drawn in the margins — spirals, eyes, circles that looked like they were bleeding.
She opened to the first page.
"Rules of the Grimoire"
The book finds you when you're ready- or when you're weak.
It only shows what it wants you to see.
Every answer comes with a cost.
The deeper you go, the harder it is to come back.
Never read aloud at night.
Never read near mirrors.
Never read alone- if you can help it.
Elara's heart beat faster. She'd already broken at least two of those rules.
She turned the page.
There were maps now. Strange ones. Drawings of the school- but with places that didn't exist."Level -1," one page was titled."Chamber of Spines.""Elara's Spiral."
She paused.Her name was written there, in Cassian's handwriting.But this notebook was made years ago.
How did he know?
She flipped through more pages. Some were filled with thoughts. Others had quick warnings.
"I heard my brother through the walls. He was singing a song we used to sing as kids."
"Something moved behind the bookcase in the library. I think there's a hidden stairway."
"Don't trust the reflections. They blink too slowly."
Elara closed the notebook gently.
Something cold touched her foot.
She looked down — nothing.
She looked back up — her mirror was cracked.
She hadn't touched it.
The crack ran right through her reflection's face.But the strange part was…Her reflection was smiling.
She wasn't.
She stood up slowly. "Nope. Nope, I'm not doing this now."
She shoved the Grimoire and the notebook under her bed, climbed in, and pulled the blanket over her head.
The next morning, the crack on the mirror was gone.
But Elara didn't feel rested. She felt like she'd spent the whole night falling through her dreams.
Cassian met her by the gate before class.
"You read it?" he asked.
"Yes," she said. "I saw the rules. And the maps. And…"She lowered her voice. "My name was in there. How?"
Cassian frowned. "What?"
"You wrote my name on a map. In a notebook you made years ago."
He snatched the notebook from her, flipping through it quickly.
When he found the page, his face went pale.
"That wasn't there before," he said. "I swear."
"Do you think the book added it?"
"I don't know," he whispered. "But if it's marking you… That's not good."
They both looked up at the school.
The windows seemed darker than usual. The whole building felt heavier, like it was leaning forward, listening.
Deep underground, the hallway stretched on.
The red spiral on the wall kept glowing.A figure appeared- not Maris this time.A boy. Pale. Thin. His eyes looked distant, but his mouth was open.
He was singing.
A soft, broken song.
"Rings of red… shadows speak…If you read, you will not sleep…"
A whisper echoed from the wall beside him.
"Elara is coming…"
And the boy smiled, even though he didn't want to.