ASHRIEL
The moment her scream hits the bond, I’m already moving.
It’s instinct—sharp and violent, buried deep in my bones. Older than the academy. Older than the Rift itself.
One second I’m in the shadow by the curtain. The next, the hallway splits with a crack of cold air—and I’m in front of Elowen.
Luke’s got a hand locked around her waist, trying to drag her back. But she isn’t moving. Frost cages her feet, spreading too fast, too thick, like it has a mind of its own.
And the thing crawling out of the locker—
It’s wrong.
Half-formed. Gray. Starving.
It turns its hollow face toward her like she’s the first breath it’s had in years.
“Elowen…”
Her name scrapes out of its mouth, thin and broken, like a dying breath.
Her whole body jerks. So does mine.
Luke pulls harder, swearing under his breath, but the frost snaps higher up her legs in a sudden rush.
It isn’t random.
It’s reacting.
Claiming her. Protecting her.
Or binding her to it.
I can’t tell which.
The Hollowed tilts its head toward me then, slow and curious—like it’s trying to understand why something in this hallway doesn’t belong.
“Elle—come on,” Luke begs, his voice cracking. “Please. Move.”
She can’t.
I feel it through the bond—her panic buzzing sharp under my ribs. Her pulse stutters. Her breath comes too fast, turning to mist in the freezing air.
The frost tightens around her legs.
She flinches. Luke grabs her again.
The frost lashes out—fast as a heartbeat—and bites into his skin.
He jerks back with a curse, staring at her like he doesn’t recognize what he’s seeing.
Like he’s already losing her.
“Elle… what—what’s happening?” he whispers.
She’s shaking. Too pale. Eyes glassy and unfocused.
The cold inside her is spiraling, out of control.
And the creature feels it.
Its limbs twitch—sharp, jerky movements. Hungry.
“Do not touch her again,” I say.
“Like hell,” Luke snaps, breath uneven, fear bleeding into every word. “You think I’m just going to—”
“This isn’t me,” I cut in, stepping closer to her. “It’s reacting to that.”
I point at the Hollowed.
The thing answers instantly. Its torso twists toward her, drawn tight—like metal to a magnet.
Something cold and violent coils in my chest.
It wants her.
I move without thinking.
One step puts me between her and the creature—between her and anything that would tear her apart if I failed for even a second.
Luke slams into my shoulder, putting all his weight behind it.
I don’t move.
“Get out of the way,” he growls.
“No.” My voice stays calm. Steady. “Don’t come closer.”
“She’s my best friend.”
“She’s my responsibility.”
Luke recoils like I hit him.
Fear twists across his face, hardening into anger—into something that looks a lot like heartbreak.
“She called for you,” he says, his voice breaking on the last word.
Behind me, her pulse spikes. I feel it like a second heartbeat.
I don’t turn. I can’t afford to.
The Hollowed shifts again.
Its spine cracks—loud and wrong.
“Final… Seal…” it whispers.
Luke goes pale.
I feel his stare lock onto me, like I’m the one who said it.
Her breath stutters.
A soft, broken sound slips from her throat.
I turn just enough to see her knees give out.
Luke lunges for her— The frost strikes again.
Sharp. Protective.
It throws his hand back before he can touch her.
“Elowen,” I breathe.
I catch her before she hits the ground.
Her fingers clutch the front of my coat, twisting tight—like she’s drowning and I’m the only solid thing left.
She’s shaking. Hard enough that her teeth click once on a sharp inhale.
Her magic is overloading. She’s burning cold.
Luke’s voice cracks behind me. “Don’t touch her!”
“She’ll fall,” I snap.
“You don’t get to decide that!”
“No one’s deciding anything,” I grind out. “She’s collapsing.”
Behind us, the Hollowed drags itself farther out of the locker, metal scraping loud against metal.
Fog spills across the floor, curling toward her—reaching like slow, grasping fingers.
She tries to stand. Tries to pull away.
Her legs give out. She sags into me.
The bond tightens under my ribs, sharp and sudden—like a hook twisting deep.
“Hold on,” I tell her.
Her forehead presses against my shoulder.
Just for a second.
Barely anything.
The creature snarls at the contact.
I feel her pain.
Not all of it—but enough to crack my focus.
The cost of her magic is tearing through her in uneven waves.
Her breath brushes my collarbone, unsteady and thin.
For one terrible second, I think she’s going to pass out.
My wings strain against reality—half—formed beneath my skin, wild and dangerous.
I force them down.
“Stay with me,” I say.
Her eyes lift to mine.
The bond snaps tight between us—hot and cold at once, stealing the air from my lungs.
She’s terrified. Of the Hollowed.
Of herself. Of hurting him.
I shift her behind me again, keeping a hand at her waist just long enough to steady her.
She’s shaking so hard I can feel it through the fabric of my coat.
Luke sees it.
All of it.
And something in his expression breaks something in me I don’t have a name for.
Luke moves before I can stop him.
He throws himself between us and the creature—like he’s ready to take the hit.
“You want her?” he spits, his voice shaking. “Then you go through me.”
The Hollowed twitches, its head snapping toward him.
“Luke… move,” I warn.
“No.” His voice breaks, but he doesn’t step back. “She needs me.”
A pulse of frost slams through the hallway.
Luke stumbles, grabbing his arm where the cold hits him. His face twists as he looks at her—like he’s watching his worst fear come true.
I step forward. “Luke—”
He backs away from both of us, eyes wide, breathing uneven.
“Every time he’s near you, this happens,” he says. “Every single time.”
Elowen lifts a shaking hand toward him. “Luke… please…”
The Hollowed’s voice scrapes through the air—
“Sunlight… flame… break…”
Luke’s shoulders start to shake.
Through the bond, her fear crashes into me—sharp and overwhelming. Guilt. Panic. Heartbreak.
My hands curl into fists.
The Hollowed shifts.
Then it goes completely still.
In a way that means only one thing.
It snaps toward him.
Luke doesn’t understand the danger.
He thinks it’s bravery.
He thinks standing between her and everything that wants to hurt her is enough.
“Come on,” he begs, his voice tearing apart. “Get behind me. I can get you out—”
“You can’t,” I say.
He spins on me. “Shut up.”
But the Hollowed hears it.
The fear. The crack in his voice.
Its head tilts. Its jaw slips wider, unhinging just enough to be wrong.
“Flame…” it whispers.
Luke goes rigid.
“What does that mean?”
Elowen tries to answer, but no sound comes out.
Her breath fogs too fast. Her fingers shake as frost winds up her wrist.
“She’s reacting to you,” I tell him. “To your fear.”
“To me?” His voice fractures. “No… no way…”
The Hollowed shifts again.
Faster now. Its body coils tight, like a spring ready to snap.
“Choice…” it hisses.
Then it launches.
A scream breaks out behind us.
Someone down the hall finally understands what they’re seeing.
Rowan stands frozen, staring at Elowen like he’s watching a prophecy unfold in real time.
The second-years shrink back, whispering— curses, frost, the girl who makes lockers split open.
Luke hears every word.
“This is what they think of you,” he says, his voice breaking halfway through. “This is what he brings into your life.”
The Hollowed’s limbs scrape against the tile.
It isn’t waiting anymore.
The hallway drops ten degrees as the creature springs.
“Luke!”
Elowen’s scream tears through the corridor.
She tries to run to him— The frost snaps tight around her legs, yanking her back like a chain.
She fights it, pushing until her voice breaks, arms outstretched, fingertips already crusted with ice.
Luke doesn’t move. Not because of the creature.
Because he finally understands the thing he’s been trying not to see.
When Elowen collapsed— she didn’t say his name.
She said mine.
That single second shatters him.
And the Hollowed takes it.
It swings for his throat.
Its arm lashes out in a blur—wrong angles, wrong speed, everything about it made to kill.
Luke shouts, throwing up his arm, but the frost along his skin splinters on impact.
I move. The air tears at my back as my wings force against the edge of breaking through—
“Elowen—”
No.
She’s screaming my name. Like it’s tearing her apart.
The Hollowed’s claws catch Luke’s skin—and the world drops into a brutal, ringing silence.