1000 CREDITS DEPOSITED

  I rubbed my eyes, annoyed by the sharp pain that accompanied the deposit but extremely happy to see that wonderful number–so happy that I could disregard the discomfort my neural implant brought me every once in a while.

  Gareth hadn’t been kidding. He had said they would deposit 1,000 credits to everyone who agreed to join Elite Group #1 as soon as we left the room. And I’d only stepped with one foot out of there when my deposit arrived.

  I couldn’t wait to spend it! Of course, I wouldn’t spend it all, but I desperately needed a few things, and having 1,000 credits would give me great–if not the best–options.

  A flash of white-blond sped by me. I spat out bits of Cinthara’s hair as she pushed me to the side and made her leave.

  “Cinthara!” I chased after her, breaking into a slight jog to catch up.

  Cinthara kept her head down and didn’t acknowledge my presence.

  “Hey, I wanted to tell you why I didn’t make it that night–you know, when you asked me to meet you at the city entrance.”

  “I don’t care,” she mumbled, turning a sharp left and smacking me, once again, in the face with a long braid.

  Sighing, I followed her. “Look, I’m sorry. I couldn’t help it. I had… a medical emergency that night.”

  It was embarrassing to say it aloud. Collapsing to the ground in front of a group of strangers and losing consciousness had left me embarrassed at the time, but having to relay the situation to the girl who had beaten me in a duel was even more humiliating. But at least it was the truth.

  Cinthara’s eye-roll was so exaggerated that I almost heard her eyes creak within her skull.

  “I’m not lying!” I insisted, raising my hands above my head in exasperation. “One of my professors had to take me to the infirmary!”

  Cinthara stopped and shut her eyes. I skidded to a halt, not noticing at first that she’d stopped walking.

  “It’s fine, Rayden. I’m not mad.”

  “You seem mad.”

  She shot me a glare. “Just shut up about it, okay!”

  I frowned, not knowing what to say. I didn’t know what I could do to make Cinthara feel better–she was obviously distressed about something. Something more than her usual dislike toward me, I mean.

  “I’d still like to know what you wanted to discuss with me,” I said after a long moment of silence.

  Cinthara allowed more of an awkward silence to pass, and we stood awkwardly just inches away from one another as hordes of students pushed by us. Many of the students yelled things like, “Get out of the way, lovebirds! Go find a room!” And I’ll admit the shouts insinuating Cinthara and I were a romantic couple in any sense made my face grow warm.

  “We’ll talk,” she finally said. “I’ll find you.”

  And with that, she disappeared behind a milling group of giggling teenage girls.

  I ground my teeth and thought, I really don’t like her.

  ***

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  The library where Sarah waited for me was a maze of tall shelves and dusty books. I got turned around half a dozen times before I found a head of shiny, mousy-brown curls peeking over a large book with dainty hands wrapped around the white cover. Sarah sat behind a long wooden table. Three other students studied on the other end, whispering and giggling with one another, but Sarah seemed content in her isolation and also seemed very interested in whatever she was reading.

  “Hey,” I whispered as I sat in an empty wooden chair across from her.

  I leaned closer to read the title of the book in her hands, Love from Afar. Probably not a homework assignment.

  I rested elbows on the table, which perfectly matched the chair I sat in with its dark-stained cherry color. Sarah lowered the book just enough to reveal sparkling hazel eyes.

  “Nice of you to show up, Rayden. I was about to leave.” She squinted her eyes up as she released a soft laugh, revealing she was teasing me, and dropped the book on the table with a thud. “I’m reading this fantastic romance about a man and woman, both from different worlds, but both drawn to each other in irreparable and delicious ways.”

  Sarah raised an eyebrow at me and tilted her head to the side as if she expected a very specific reply from me.

  I cleared my throat. “Oh, uh, sounds nice.”

  She sighed and pushed the book to the side. Had I dissatisfied her in some way?

  “Well, are you ready to see it?” Sarah asked.

  “The hidden door? So, you did find it.”

  Sarah’s smile spread to her ears. “Oh, we definitely found it.”

  She led me out of the library with ease, knowing exactly which line of bookshelves to turn into to reach the exit. I knew there were many libraries in the academy, but based on how Sarah knew this one, she must have visited it often.

  “This way,” she whispered, glancing in both directions to make sure no one would follow us before disappearing down a dark hall on our left.

  The more I explored the academy, the more its exceptionally large size impressed me. I’d been here for about a week, and as a student less than a week, so I knew I hadn’t seen even close to what both the academy and city had to offer. Including hidden doors.

  Sarah and I walked for a long time–about an hour. We took only stairs to climb down toward the far left wing of the building, avoiding the lifts altogether. And the further we went, the darker it became.

  “Was it hard to find? The door?”

  Sarah continued walking but turned her head over her right shoulder to look at me. I could barely see her face through the ominous shadows surrounding us in the near dark.

  “Yes,” she said. “But it’s alright because we found it eventually. Mildred, Maxwell, and I went hunting for it after you had to leave for work that night–the night you and I found the out-of-place hall in the left wing on the blueprints of the academy.”

  “Did you solve the clue?” I bit my lip to keep from gasping in shock as I walked through a sticky and stringy spider web.

  “No, not yet.” Sarah sighed and turned her head back, facing forward. “We couldn’t figure it out and decided to show you what’s behind the door and see what you thought.”

  I nodded, satisfied by her answers. “Are we getting close?”

  “We’re actually here.”

  I followed Sarah’s lead and stopped right next to her. I couldn’t see much through the dim lighting. Only two orbs of light blinked a weak yellow above our heads. The hall was… drab. It definitely didn’t match the other corridors of the academy. This area had no red carpets with matching wallpaper or any marble statues, paintings, or other decor. All that surrounded us was cold, gray stone. I wrapped my arms around myself and shivered. It felt off.

  “Where are we?” I breathed.

  “We’re right in the middle of that nonsensical hall–the hall that shouldn’t exist,” Sarah said, staring straight at the rock wall directly in front of her.

  I looked around myself. “Where’s the door?”

  Sarah wiggled her fingers in front of my face with a soft laugh, then pressed the pads of her fingers into one of the many slabs of stone brick just above her head. The stone slid into the wall, scraping against the other slabs with a screeching sound.

  “You might wanna step back.”

  I heeded her words and stepped back three steps just before half of the wall slid into the floor. As the retractable wall fell, cold air blew into my face like a strong wind.

  “And there it is!” Sarah exclaimed triumphantly.

  Behind the false wall stood a cavity–an intentional hole that shouldn’t have existed. I stepped back toward where half of the wall had once been and peered into the darkness. The hole was wide, at least a third of the size of the hall we stood in, and a little to the right stood a looming, dark gray door. The door had no decoration or anything that might make it look interesting, but its ominous presence alone offered an intriguing image.

  “Don’t worry,” Sarah said directly behind me. She stood so close her breath tickled the hairs on my ear. “It’s perfectly safe.”

  Having no reason not to trust her, I walked over to the door. It had no handles or knobs, so I pushed into it gently. The wood gave way with ease, and I crossed the threshold with a deep breath, Sarah right behind me.