12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf9M6ivqL52Eilara fled. The hallways felt colder now, and she kept her arm pulled tight against her chest, the heat from the stamp still pulsing under her sleeve. She slipped into the library, a towering cavern of dust and shadows.
"You should put ice on that. Or magic, if you have any left."
Eilara jumped. Mary Beth was perched on top of a rolling ladder, a leather-bound book open on her knees. Her turquoise eyes seemed to glow in the dim light. She climbed down with the grace of a cat. "I’ve been waiting a long time for someone to wake up. And Eilara... you’ve been asleep for a very long time."
Eilara reached for a vial Mary Beth held out, but her fingers passed right through the girl’s hand. She gasped, stumbling back. "You're... you're not real."
Mary Beth stepped toward a gold-rimmed mirror. Instead of her own reflection, the glass showed Eilara—burnt and terrified. "I am the part of you that refused to forget," Mary Beth whispered, her form flickering. Her raven hair lightened, and her eyes bled into amber, matching Eilara’s perfectly. "I am the reflection you created to hold the anger you weren't allowed to feel. To remember Kael’s betrayal so you wouldn't have to."
Outside, the heavy thrum of the bell began to vibrate through the floorboards.
"He’s coming," the reflection warned, merging into the glass. "The 'Puppet' Kael is looking for you. Don't hide the pain, Eilara. Use it."
The Confrontation
Eilara uncorked the vial and poured the silver liquid over the blackened stamp. The pain vanished instantly, replaced by a cold, sharp clarity. She stood tall, wiping the tears from her face just as the library doors creaked open.
A shadow stretched across the floor—long, thin, and perfectly still.
"Eilara?" Kael’s voice called out. It was light, airy, and completely devoid of the boy she knew. He stepped into the light, his uniform pristine, his eyes wide and vacant. "Class is starting again. You wouldn't want to be late twice, would you?"
He stopped a few feet away, tilting his head with a mechanical curiosity. He looked at her arm, expecting to see her cowering in pain.
Eilara didn't flinch. She stepped out from behind the mirror, letting the silver light of the library catch her eyes. She didn't look like a victim anymore; she looked like a storm.
"I'm not going back to that class, Kael," she said, her voice steady and ringing through the silence. "And I’m not letting you forget who I am again."
Kael’s smile twitched, a glitch in his perfect, empty expression. For a split second, the coldness in his eyes wavered, replaced by a flash of confusion—a spark of the real Kael trying to scream through the mask.
"Eilara?" he repeated, but this time, it sounded like a question.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcHXaLsyhAa
and then Add to home screen.