The moment we stepped off the plane and onto the enchanted landing strip, I couldn't help but gape. Castle Yegiths loomed in the distance, an imposing silhouette against the evening sky. The transition from the mundane world to this magical realm felt like crossing a threshold into a dream. Even the air seemed different—crisper, charged with an energy that made the hairs on my arms stand on end.
The castle itself was breathtaking, its gray stone walls towering high, adorned with intricate carvings that seemed alive in the fading light. Every spire stretched toward the heavens, their peaks catching the golden hues of twilight. Perched atop the parapets, gargoyles stood sentinel, their watchful gazes following our every move. For a second, I could've sworn one blinked, but when I looked again, it was as still as stone.
Around the castle, lush green lawns spread out like a vast emerald carpet, broken only by winding stone pathways. Wildflowers dotted the grass in vivid purples, yellows, and reds, their colors so vibrant they seemed to hum with life. Ancient trees with thick, gnarled trunks lined the paths, their sprawling branches creating a canopy that whispered softly in the breeze. The sound was more than just rustling leaves—it was almost as if the trees themselves were murmuring secrets.
A shimmering lake sat nestled beyond the castle, its surface so smooth it looked like glass. It reflected the spires and the distant mountains like a perfect mirror, only disturbed by the occasional ripple from something unseen beneath its surface. Wisps of fog floated just above the water, glowing faintly in the fading light.
"Wow," I breathed, unable to tear my eyes away.
"Yeah," George murmured beside me, his usual sarcasm replaced with awe.
We stood there, frozen in place, as the rest of the first-years began to gather their belongings. A distant hum of chatter reached us, but it felt muted, like the scene in front of us demanded reverent silence.
"Hey, earth to Evan!" a familiar voice called. Jaime, one of the girls I'd met on the plane, jogged over and nudged me with her elbow. "We've gotta move, or we'll miss the lineup."
I blinked and glanced down, realizing I was still clutching my carry-on tightly to my chest. Jaime rolled her eyes playfully and gestured toward the others, who were already making their way toward the castle entrance.
Ophelia, Jaime's friend, grabbed her arm and laughed. "Stop dragging your feet, Jaime. We're supposed to be leading, not lagging!"
Jaime shot her a look but grabbed her bag and hurried forward. George and I exchanged a look, and he smirked. "You first," he teased.
"Fine," I muttered, picking up my bag and trailing after them.
As we got closer to the castle, the details became even more mesmerizing. The carvings on the walls weren't just decorative; they were stories etched into stone. Scenes of magical duels, mythical creatures, and ancient ceremonies seemed to come alive under the twilight glow. I wanted to stop and study each one, but the flow of students behind me made it impossible.
Jaime, as always, was a few steps ahead of us, chatting animatedly with Ophelia. She wasn't paying attention to where she was going, and before I could warn her, she collided with someone—hard.
Time seemed to slow as the older boy turned, his arm shooting out instinctively to steady her before she could stumble. For a split second, his expression softened, his dark eyes flashing with something I couldn't name—concern? Recognition? Whatever it was, it was gone as quickly as it appeared. His face hardened into an unreadable mask, and he stepped back, letting his hand drop to his side.
"I—I'm sorry," Jaime stammered, her cheeks flushing as she looked up at him.
The boy gave a curt nod but didn't say a word. His cloak billowed behind him as he turned and walked away, disappearing into the throng of students heading toward the castle.
Jaime stood frozen for a moment, her mouth slightly open as if she wanted to say more but couldn't find the words. Ophelia grabbed her arm and tugged her along, whispering something that made Jaime laugh nervously.
I watched the boy until he was completely out of sight, a strange unease settling in my stomach. Something about him felt… off. He was hiding something. That flicker of emotion on his face—it hadn't been random. I was sure of it.
"Evan!" George's voice broke my concentration. He was already halfway to the castle entrance, waving for me to catch up.
I tore my eyes away from the crowd and hurried to follow, the weight of my bag suddenly heavier on my shoulder. Castle Yegiths was already proving to be full of mysteries, and I had a feeling that boy was just the beginning.
Matthew
My arrival at Yegiths was interesting—not unpleasant, but certainly unexpected. It all started when I collided with the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen. Her presence caught me completely off guard. For a moment, I almost smiled, but that thought was immediately wiped away. My father's harsh teachings and the weight of his expectations hit me like a cold wave. "She's too beautiful to get caught up in all this… too beautiful to be hurt by me or him," I thought, looking at her only briefly before quickly looking away.
She steadied herself, murmuring a quiet thanks, but I barely registered her words, my mind already racing. I wasn't ready to deal with that right now. Not here. Not with what was about to come.
"You did the right thing, Matt," Jason said, his voice low, almost dangerous as he stepped in beside me. I could feel the weight of his words, and I knew he wasn't just talking about what happened with the girl. He was talking about the bigger picture—the one where we always had to be vigilant. "His eyes and ears are everywhere. She'd be dead before his plan even started."
Jason's words stung, but he was right. His eyes were scanning the crowd, cold and calculating as usual. The protective instinct was there, the constant vigilance, like he was always looking for the next threat. I didn't need him to remind me. But I could tell by the way his jaw clenched that he was thinking about more than just the girl. He was thinking about the danger we were all in.
Aiden, as usual, didn't say anything at first. He stood a few feet behind us, his body tense, eyes scanning the crowd. His posture was like that of a hawk—sharp and alert. Aiden wasn't looking for friendly faces. He was looking for threats.
Then, like a shadow creeping through the crowd, Aiden's eyes locked on someone. He was quick to spot Professor Thaddeus Flint, standing off to the side with that unsettling grin of his. The man's smile was wide, almost too wide, and it sent a shiver down my spine. Flint's hand twitched toward his phone, a subtle move, but enough to tell us that he'd seen everything. The way his eyes lingered on us made my stomach tighten with dread. This wasn't over.
Aiden leaned in close, lowering his voice to a near-whisper. "We've got trouble coming, boys. Keep your phones closed and your eyes open."
His warning was all too familiar, and the sense of unease grew heavier in the pit of my stomach. I didn't need to ask what he meant. Professor Flint wasn't just some teacher. He was a predator, and now we were the prey.
Without saying anything, Jason, Aiden, and I checked our phones, making sure the volume was turned up. It was our only lifeline right now. No one could know what we were talking about, not with Flint—and anyone else who might be watching—so close.
I gave a curt nod, agreeing without speaking. My throat felt tight, but I didn't say anything. I didn't need to. The tension in the air said enough. We all understood the danger, and we all knew that if we didn't stick together, we'd be picked off one by one.
"Fine," I finally said, breaking the silence. "But remember, we need to stick together—even if we can't trust anyone."
Jason didn't respond right away. He slung his bag over his shoulder and kept his eyes forward, his focus already on whatever came next. It was like he was always thinking two steps ahead. I didn't need to ask about where we were supposed to sleep. I already knew the answer wouldn't matter—there were bigger things to worry about.
Still, I asked, just to break the silence. "Jase, where did they say we're supposed to sleep?"
The words felt hollow as soon as they left my mouth. It wasn't like it mattered. Not right now.
Aiden let out a short breath, shaking his head as if the question was irrelevant. "Does it matter?" he muttered, his tone sharp, but I could hear the underlying concern. We all felt it. The air around us felt heavier, like something was waiting for us just inside the gates of this place. The castle loomed ahead, towering over us, its walls imposing and cold.
I didn't need to say anything more. We all knew this was bigger than a simple question about where we were going to sleep. We were walking into something far more dangerous, something we couldn't fully prepare for. Yegiths Academy wasn't a place where students went to relax—it was a place where survival mattered more than anything else.
The silence between us was thick, but none of us broke it. We didn't have time for pleasantries. We didn't have time for distractions. The castle was right in front of us, its stone walls rising high into the sky. The air was thick, heavy with a sense of foreboding that I couldn't shake. This wasn't just a school—it was a battleground. And I was about to step into it.
The sound of footsteps behind us grew louder, and I couldn't help but wonder just how much trouble we were really walking into. What had we gotten ourselves into?
I was in awe as I bumped into him. The guy I hadn't noticed until the moment I collided with him. He was tall—way taller than most of the boys—and had dark hair, messy but purposeful, and a look on his face that made him seem untouchable, like he had more on his mind than any of us could possibly understand. His indifference was a mask, one that left me strangely unsettled, like I was staring into a void that didn't care if I existed or not. It wasn't the kind of indifference you could ignore; it was the kind that made you feel invisible, insignificant.
"Thank you," I managed to mutter, my voice barely above a whisper, though I wasn't sure if he even heard me. But he didn't acknowledge my words. Instead, he just brushed past me, his eyes already turned toward the boys standing next to him, like I was just another part of the crowd he was too far above to notice.
I watched him, feeling a weird mix of awe and confusion. Who was he? Why did he have this presence about him that felt so... unsettling? Before I could process any more, George appeared at my side, his brow furrowed.
"Do you know who that was?" he asked, a strange look on his face, as if he couldn't believe I didn't know.
"No, should I?" I raised an eyebrow, not sure what to make of the urgency in his voice.
George's eyes widened slightly, and he looked at me like I'd just missed a vital piece of information. "I would say so, especially when it comes to the spare to the heir. Matthew Ares Miller, the second son of the Dark Lord." He paused, watching me closely for my reaction. "They say he has a bit of a rebellious streak. Just be careful around him, okay?"
The name hit me harder than I expected. Matthew Ares Miller. The second son. The Dark Lord. I'd heard rumors about him before—about his family, their dark legacy—but to see him in person, standing there like he belonged in some forgotten legend, was different. It made the air feel heavier, like I was breathing in more than just the castle's damp stone. I nodded absently, trying to shake off the nervous energy that had suddenly settled in my chest. This wasn't the kind of thing you just brushed off. Not in a place like this.
Before I could respond, the rest of the group started walking toward the castle entrance, pulling me out of my thoughts. I had to keep up.
As we crossed the threshold, the weight of the castle pressed down on me. The entrance hall loomed ahead, vast and shadowy. The arches above were so high they seemed to reach into the very sky, their stone faces worn with age, every curve and carving speaking of centuries of history. Faint light from flickering iron chandeliers barely illuminated the stone floor, casting long, eerie shadows that twisted across the cold surface. The air felt thick with dust and secrets.
Ancient tapestries hung on the walls, their colors muted by time. Some had once been vibrant with reds and golds, but now they were faded, their edges frayed. The pictures they held were of battles and beasts—creatures with twisted forms and eyes that seemed to follow us as we moved. I shivered. I didn't know if it was the chill of the air or the unnerving way those eyes never seemed to blink.
Gothic columns lined the hall, their surfaces thick with vines that spiraled up to the vaulted ceiling. Some of the vines had hardened into grotesque gargoyle faces, their expressions frozen in eternal torment. I couldn't help but stare at one that seemed to leer at us, its stone eyes so lifelike I half expected it to blink. The silence in the hall was oppressive, and with each step, the echoes of our shoes against the stone seemed to grow louder, more amplified, as though the castle was listening.
The deeper we went into the castle, the dimmer the light grew, like we were descending into something darker. The air smelled old—like wet stone and rotting wood, the kind of smell that clung to your clothes, impossible to shake. The torches on the walls sputtered, their flames dancing weakly in the draft, casting fleeting shadows in the corners. It almost felt like the castle was alive, waiting for something—or someone. My heart started to race, and I pushed forward, trying to ignore the cold sweat gathering at the back of my neck.
It wasn't just the shadows, or the creepy faces on the walls. There was something about this place that felt... wrong. Beautiful, yes, in its own way, but cold, distant. Everything here spoke of survival, not comfort. A place where you didn't get too comfortable because the walls had seen too much—too many secrets, too many lives, too many things I wasn't ready to know. The whispers of the past seemed to swirl in the corners of the castle, hiding in the cracks and crevices, waiting to be uncovered.
"Please put your bags down here," Professor Hughes's voice rang out, cutting through the heavy silence. "The sprites will be taking them as the sorting happens. Remember your robes and phones. Now, please follow me to the banquet hall."
I barely heard her. My eyes were still scanning the walls, the faces, the flickering lights. Everything felt so alive, so ancient, and so full of danger. But when I looked around, everyone else seemed focused on what came next—like the weird tension in the air wasn't affecting them at all. Like this was normal.
"Jason Hades Miller and Matthew Ares Miller, your sorting will be done in private with Headmaster Lee," Professor Hughes continued. "Please go to his office."
My gaze flickered to the two boys. One of them, I couldn't tell which, was fuming. His face was contorted with frustration, but there was something else there, too—something darker. The other brother, the calmer one, shook his head and placed a hand on the fuming one's shoulder, trying to calm him down.
I didn't care much about their drama. They were clearly complicated, their last names hanging heavy on their shoulders, but right now, I couldn't think about them. My heart was hammering in my chest at the thought of being sorted. It was such a strange feeling. I had no idea where I'd end up, but I was eager to know, to find out where I truly belonged here.
As I walked deeper into the castle, I couldn't shake the feeling that something big was about to happen. Something that would change everything.