The Demon Behind the Seal

Aria Vale had always believed that strange things happened to other people. They happened in stories, in old legends her grandmother used to tell her when she was younger, and sometimes in the rumors that spread through school whenever someone claimed to have seen something they couldn't explain. They never happened to her. Her own life had always been pleasantly ordinary, and Aria had never really had a reason to complain about that. She lived in a quiet town where everyone seemed to know everyone else, attended school during the week, spent her evenings reading whenever she could escape her assignments, and occasionally took long walks when she needed some time alone. It wasn't an exciting life, but it was familiar, and Aria had always found comfort in familiar things. Until the morning she found the letter. She had barely opened her eyes when she noticed the black envelope lying on the floor beside her bed. For a few seconds, she simply stared at it. She couldn't remember leaving anything there the night before. In fact, she was certain there hadn't been anything on the floor when she'd gone to sleep. Her room was small enough that she would have noticed it immediately, especially since she'd spent nearly half the previous night looking for a missing book. Slowly, Aria sat up and reached for it. The envelope was colder than she expected. There was no stamp, no address and no name of a sender. The only thing on the front was a strange silver symbol pressed into the paper. It looked almost like a circle surrounded by several thin, unfamiliar markings. Aria turned it over. Nothing. She frowned and examined it again before noticing the writing on the back. Her stomach tightened. ARIA VALE. "Okay..." she murmured, sitting up properly. "That's creepy." She looked toward the bedroom door. It was still locked. Her roommate hadn't returned during the night, and nobody else should have been able to enter the dormitory without waking her. Aria wasn't a particularly heavy sleeper either. She would have heard the door. Curiosity eventually won over caution. She carefully broke the seal. Inside was a single sheet of black paper. Three lines of silver writing were printed across it. Eldoria Academy. You have been selected. Do not show this letter to anyone. Aria read the words once. Then again. "Eldoria Academy?" The name meant nothing to her. She had never heard of a school called Eldoria, and she certainly didn't remember applying to one. She was about to turn the paper over when the silver symbol on the envelope began to glow. Aria froze. The envelope slipped from her fingers. It landed on the floor, but instead of falling flat, it remained suspended for a moment before a thin circle of light spread beneath it. "What the—?" The light expanded across the floorboards. Symbols appeared one after another, forming a complicated pattern around her feet. Aria stumbled backward, but the circle seemed to follow her. Her heart began pounding. "What is happening?" The room suddenly became unbearably bright. For one brief moment, the walls of her bedroom disappeared. Aria found herself standing somewhere she had never seen before. A gigantic black gate rose before her beneath a crimson-colored moon. Thick chains stretched across the gate, each one covered in glowing symbols. Beyond them stood a boy she had never met. He was dressed in black. His hair fell messily across his forehead, but Aria could still see his eyes. They were crimson. He stared directly at her as though he'd been waiting for her. Then his lips moved. Aria couldn't hear what he said. She tried to step closer. The vision shattered. She was back in her bedroom. The letter lay on the floor. Her breathing was uneven, and her hands were trembling. For several seconds she couldn't move. Then she noticed something on her wrist. A mark had appeared on her skin. It was a silver crest surrounded by thin black lines, almost identical to the symbol on the envelope. Aria touched it. Pain immediately shot through her arm. She gasped and pulled her hand away. The room fell silent. And somewhere far beyond the walls of her little bedroom, something opened its eyes. Three days later, Aria was standing in front of a carriage wondering whether she had completely lost her mind. It was midnight-black, with silver symbols carved into its doors and wheels that seemed far too elegant for an ordinary carriage. The driver sat silently at the front, dressed in a dark uniform that looked as though it belonged to another century. Aria glanced at the letter in her hand before looking back at him. "You're telling me this is taking me to Eldoria Academy?" The driver nodded. "Yes, Miss Vale." "And where exactly is Eldoria Academy?" He didn't answer. Aria stared at the back of his head. "Right. Of course." She climbed into the carriage. The inside was far larger than it looked from outside, with dark leather seats and silver lamps hanging from the ceiling. Aria sat beside the window and watched the familiar streets of her town disappear behind them. At first, everything seemed normal. Then the road became narrower. The houses disappeared. The trees grew taller. Mist began gathering between them. Aria leaned closer to the window. She had never seen this forest before. The carriage continued deeper into the trees until even the moonlight seemed to disappear. For several minutes, there was nothing but darkness and the quiet sound of the wheels moving over the road. Then the mist suddenly cleared. Aria's mouth fell open. A vast academy stood beyond the forest. It was so enormous that calling it a school felt ridiculous. Tall towers rose above the trees, connected by stone bridges and surrounded by hundreds of floating lanterns. Ancient walls enclosed the grounds, and enormous iron gates stood open beneath a crest that Aria didn't recognize. She pressed her palm against the window. "Eldoria..." The carriage slowed. As it stopped, Aria gathered her things and stepped down onto the stone path. Students were everywhere. Some wore dark academy uniforms while others carried books or strange-looking objects that seemed to glow faintly in their hands. A group of students walked past while talking excitedly, and somewhere nearby, someone was arguing with a teacher. For a moment, Aria simply stood there. This wasn't the mysterious, abandoned place she'd imagined after receiving the letter. It was alive. It was a real school. And somehow, that made everything even stranger. She took a few steps forward before noticing that several students were staring at her. One whispered something to another. The other immediately looked at Aria's wrist. She instinctively pulled her sleeve down. "Ignore them." Aria turned. A girl around her age was standing beside her, holding two books against her chest. She had long honey-brown hair, violet eyes and a small silver star clipped near one side of her hair. "You look like you want to run back into the carriage," the girl said. Aria gave a nervous laugh. "Is it that obvious?" "Very." "I'm Aria." "I know." Aria blinked. "How?" The girl glanced toward the other students. "Because apparently everyone here knows who you are." Before Aria could ask what she meant, a tall woman approached them from the academy entrance. Her expression was stern enough to make the students nearby straighten immediately. "Miss Vale?" Aria nodded. "Yes." The woman's eyes moved briefly to Aria's covered wrist. Something changed in her expression. It was subtle. Almost too quick to notice. But Aria noticed. "Come with me," the woman said. Aria picked up her bag. "Where?" "Headmaster Veyr is expecting you." The woman's voice became quieter. "And keep your sleeve down." Aria's fingers tightened around the fabric. "Why?" The woman looked directly into her eyes. "Because not everyone at Eldoria will be pleased that you're here." Before Aria could ask what that meant, the woman turned and walked toward the academy. Aria remained where she was for a moment. Then she looked at the students around her. The whispering had started again. She couldn't make out every word. But she heard one clearly. "The Lost Crest." Aria's heart skipped. She looked down at her wrist. The mark beneath her sleeve suddenly felt much heavier than it had before. And somewhere beneath the academy, far below the classrooms and dormitories, something struck against a chain. Once. Twice. Then a third time. No one upstairs seemed to hear it. Except a boy sitting alone in the darkness. He slowly lifted his head. His crimson eyes opened. And for the first time in years, he smiled. "So they finally brought her back."