Chapter 7: Orientation Day
917 Words
For the first time since arriving at Hidden Moon Academy…
Evelyn slept.
Not well.
Every time she closed her eyes, she saw silver feathers drifting through moonlight and heard the Blood Hound whisper one impossible word.
Majesty.
When morning finally came, golden sunlight streamed through the arched windows of Room 317.
The academy looked completely different in daylight.
The gothic towers seemed less intimidating, the gardens glowed with colorful flowers instead of silver moonlight, and students hurried across the courtyards carrying books, laughing as though a monster hadn’t attacked the academy only hours before.
A pillow hit Evelyn square in the face.
“Wake up!”
She groaned.
“Maya…”
“We’re going to be late!”
“For what?”
“Orientation!”
Evelyn peeked at the clock beside her bed.
7:12 A.M.
“I’ve never hated a clock more.”
⸻
By the time she walked into the common room, Finn was trying—and failing—to make pancakes.
Smoke billowed from the skillet.
Celeste looked up from her book.
“They’re burning.”
“I know they’re burning!”
“Then perhaps remove them from the pan.”
“I was hoping they’d recover.”
“They’re pancakes, Finn.”
“They deserve a chance.”
Evelyn laughed.
It was the first time she’d laughed since arriving.
Maya pointed a spatula toward her.
“There she is!”
“Morning.”
“You actually smiled!”
“I did?”
“You did.”
Celeste closed her book.
“That’s progress.”
⸻
After breakfast—mostly toast—they stepped outside.
The campus buzzed with excitement.
Students filled the stone pathways.
A group of dragon shifters argued near a fountain.
Two witches floated stacks of books behind them.
Several vampires sat beneath a silver maple tree drinking what looked suspiciously like coffee.
Evelyn leaned toward Maya.
“I thought vampires only drank blood.”
“They do.”
“They’re drinking coffee.”
“They’re tired.”
“…Can vampires get tired?”
“They’re college students.”
“Fair point.”
⸻
Hidden Moon Academy was even larger in daylight.
The castle stretched across several courtyards connected by bridges and gardens.
Beyond the main buildings lay training fields, greenhouses, an enormous lake, and forests that disappeared into the mountains.
At the center of campus stood a marble statue of a woman with wide, elegant wings stretched toward the sky.
She wore a crown shaped like a crescent moon.
Students walked past without paying much attention.
Evelyn couldn’t stop staring.
“Who’s that?”
Maya followed her gaze.
“No one really knows.”
Finn shrugged.
“They say she’s from one of the oldest legends.”
Celeste spoke quietly.
“The Moon Queen.”
Evelyn’s stomach tightened.
The statue looked…
Familiar.
Almost like—
No.
That was impossible.
⸻
A loud bell echoed across campus.
Students immediately changed direction.
“Orientation starts in five minutes!” Maya said.
She grabbed Evelyn’s hand.
“Come on!”
⸻
The Great Hall was enormous.
Long tables filled the room, but unlike a normal college cafeteria, they weren’t separated by year.
Instead, banners hung from the ceiling, each marked with a silver symbol.
A wolf.
A dragon.
A raven.
A fox.
A serpent.
A phoenix.
And several Evelyn didn’t recognize.
Lucas waved from a nearby table.
“Over here!”
Maya smiled.
“I saved seats.”
As Evelyn sat down, she noticed students still watching her.
Some smiled.
Others looked nervous.
A few looked openly suspicious.
She pretended not to notice.
⸻
Dean Blackwood stepped onto the raised platform at the front of the hall.
Instant silence fell.
“Welcome,” he began, “to another year at Hidden Moon Academy.”
His voice carried effortlessly through the hall.
“For our returning students… welcome home.”
Applause echoed through the room.
“For our first-years… your lives have changed forever.”
Nervous laughter followed.
“Over the next four years, you will learn not only how to control your gifts, but how to protect a world that knows nothing of your existence.”
With a wave of his hand, glowing schedules appeared in front of every student.
One floated gently into Evelyn’s hands.
⸻
Evelyn Carter
Year One
* Paranormal History
* Magical Theory
* Combat Fundamentals
* Shifter Control
* Supernatural Politics
* Moon Studies (Required)
She frowned.
“Moon Studies?”
Lucas leaned over.
“I’ve never heard of that class.”
Finn looked at his own schedule.
“It isn’t on mine.”
Maya shook her head.
“Mine either.”
Celeste narrowed her eyes.
“I didn’t know the academy even offered Moon Studies.”
Evelyn looked back at her schedule.
At the bottom, another line slowly appeared in shimmering silver ink.
Instructor: To Be Announced
Then—
The letters changed.
Meet at the Moon Tower tonight. Come alone.
Evelyn’s heart skipped.
She blinked.
The message vanished.
The schedule looked perfectly normal again.
“Did anyone else’s schedule just…”
She looked around.
Everyone else was chatting about their classes.
No one seemed to have noticed anything.
Lucas tilted his head.
“What is it?”
Evelyn slowly folded the schedule.
“…Nothing.”
But she knew one thing.
Someone—or something—had just invited her to a meeting no one else was supposed to know about.
And for the first time since arriving at Hidden Moon Academy…
She wasn’t sure whether she should go.
- Writer
