Ch 9 - Cora

The Solstice Order's Interest

By the time morning arrived, I felt like I hadn't slept at all. The Shadow's voice had clung to the edges of my mind, its chilling promises coiling deep inside me. Every whisper replayed over and over again, You'll never be free of me. The fear gnawed at me like a parasite, leaving me drained and raw. No amount of cold water or caffeine could shake the exhaustion that weighed on me.

I stared at my reflection in the dorm's small mirror. My eyes were shadowed, rimmed red from the lack of sleep. How long could I keep this up? The crack in the pendant had deepened overnight, spider-webbing across the surface like tiny black veins. I ran my fingers over the faint bulge of it beneath my sweater, as if touch alone could reinforce it.

A sharp knock at the door jolted me out of my spiraling thoughts. My heart jumped into my throat. I crossed the room and opened the door to find a campus messenger standing there, his expression neutral but purposeful. His uniform bore the emblem of the college administration, but I noticed a small silver pin on his lapel—a stylized sun bisected by a vertical line. An insignia I'd seen before, in the fragments of my parents' research papers.

He held out a neatly folded letter bearing the college's official crest. "Cora Dixon?" he asked.

"Yeah, that's me," I replied, taking the letter from his outstretched hand.

The messenger gave a polite nod and turned on his heel, his footsteps fading quickly down the hall. I shut the door behind me and broke the wax seal on the letter. The crest embedded in the wax was more elaborate than the one on the envelope—the standard college emblem, but with additional arcane symbols arranged in a circular pattern around it.

Ms. Dixon,
Please report to Professor Reed's office immediately. This is not a request.
-Agatha Reed, Deputy Chancellor
Solstice Order, Inner Circle

My stomach clenched. The word 'immediately' sent a fresh wave of anxiety through me, but it was the signature that made my hands shake. Reed hadn't just signed as a professor, but as a member of something called the "Inner Circle" of the Solstice Order. The same organization mentioned in my parents' fragments.

So, they'd noticed the flare-up. Of course they had. The Shadow's symbols, the frost, the ley lines going haywire—there was no way something like that could stay under the radar of a group that apparently monitored supernatural activity.

I crumpled the letter slightly in my hand and exhaled a shaky breath. I had no choice but to go.

The walk to Professor Reed's office stretched longer than it should have. Each step echoed in the quiet halls of the old academic building, the weight of invisible eyes pressing down on me. Bronze plaques on the doors I passed bore the same sun-and-line emblem I'd seen on the messenger's lapel, growing more elaborate the deeper I went into the building.

My thoughts spiraled with questions I couldn't answer. What exactly did Reed want from me? How much did she already know? How deeply had my parents been involved with this Solstice Order?

I paused outside her door. This wasn't the same office where we'd first met. This one was located in the oldest wing of the administration building, far from the regular faculty offices. The door itself was imposing—heavy oak reinforced with iron bands, emblazoned with the now-familiar sun symbol surrounded by arcane script. The air around it felt charged, faint traces of enchantments humming through the wood. I pressed my hand to the cool brass handle, hesitating. Part of me wanted to turn around and run. But that wasn't an option.

With a deep breath, I pushed the door open.

The office beyond was unlike any academic space I'd seen before. Circular in shape, it was lined with bookshelves and glass-fronted cabinets containing artifacts that pulsed with contained power. The ceiling arched high overhead, painted with an elaborate astronomical mural depicting celestial bodies in arrangements I didn't recognize. The floor bore a massive inlaid pattern—the sun symbol again, but vastly more complex, with dozens of intricate lines radiating outward to form a web of connections.

Professor Reed sat behind her imposing oak desk at the center of the circular pattern, her posture straight and composed. Sunlight streamed through the tall windows behind her, illuminating the frost-laden grounds outside. Despite the warmth of the light, the atmosphere inside the office was cold and clinical.

"Cora," she greeted, her voice neutral but sharp, like a blade hidden in velvet. "Come in. Sit."

I obeyed, lowering myself into the stiff-backed chair across from her. My pulse quickened as her piercing gaze settled on me. There was no warmth in her eyes today—only scrutiny.

"Thank you for coming," she began, folding her hands on the desk. "I'm sure you can guess why you're here."

I swallowed, my throat suddenly dry. "I... might have an idea."

"Good. Then let's not waste time." Reed leaned forward slightly. "There were significant magical disturbances on campus last night, centered around you. Reports indicate a surge of dark energy, ley line interference, and frost spreading across multiple areas. More concerning were the arcane symbols that briefly manifested—symbols consistent with pre-Sumerian binding rituals."

I flinched under the weight of her words, surprised by how specific her knowledge was. My fingers tightened around the pendant beneath my sweater. "I... It's my curse. The ley lines are making it harder to control. I didn't mean for any of that to happen."

Reed's expression didn't soften. If anything, it grew more calculating. She reached into a drawer and withdrew a slim folder, opening it to reveal photographs—crisp images of the exact symbols the Shadow had manifested in my room.

"These were captured by the ward matrices throughout the supernatural dormitories," she explained. "Curses tied to ley lines are volatile under the best circumstances. But this isn't just a matter of control, Cora. This is dangerous. You're destabilizing the magical balance of this campus."

"I'm trying to manage it," I said quickly. "I've been managing it for years. I didn't ask for the ley lines to... to amplify it."

Her eyes narrowed slightly. "And yet, here we are."

Silence stretched between us, heavy and suffocating. I clenched my jaw, refusing to break eye contact. I wasn't going to let her make me feel like a ticking bomb. Not again.

Finally, Reed sighed and leaned back in her chair. "I believe you're doing your best. But there are forces at work here that you don't fully understand. Ardenmoor isn't just a school. It's a convergence point for ley line nexuses, a place where magical power is both a resource and a weapon. And you're not the only one paying attention to what's happening."

A chill crept up my spine. "What do you mean?"

"The Solstice Order," she said, her tone dropping slightly. "We've been monitoring this campus for centuries. Your parents were connected to us."

I leaned forward, my heart racing. "My parents? How?"

Reed hesitated, her gaze flickering to the window as if debating how much to tell me. "They were involved in research related to ley lines and supernatural curses. Margaret—your mother—was particularly gifted in theoretical binding magic. Their work was... significant enough to attract attention. Dangerous attention."

I felt like the ground had shifted beneath me. I'd come here searching for answers about my parents, but now it felt like I'd stumbled into a much deeper web of secrets.

"The Order itself is divided on how to approach your situation," Reed continued. "We have existed since the 16th century, dedicated to understanding and controlling supernatural forces. But over time, our methods and goals have... diverged."

She stood and walked to one of the glass cabinets, removing an ancient-looking medallion. "The Traditionalists, led by Chancellor Richards, believe in containment above all else. They would prefer to see your curse sealed away, regardless of the consequences to you personally."

She moved to another cabinet. "The Scholars, my faction, seek to understand the fundamental nature of curses like yours. We believe knowledge is the path to true control."

Reed paused at a third cabinet, this one locked with multiple magical seals. "And then there are the Pragmatists, who view power as a resource to be harvested and utilized. They would see your curse as an opportunity, not a threat."

I hesitated, choosing my words carefully. "Did the ley lines... draw something to them? To my parents?"

Reed's expression didn't change, but I caught a flicker of something in her eyes—recognition, maybe. "Ley lines amplify everything around them, including the risks. When tampered with, they can attract things far beyond our understanding. Your parents were researching ways to harness this power safely. They disappeared before their work was complete."

She didn't elaborate further, and I decided not to push. Instead, I nodded slowly, filing away the information. I couldn't risk letting anyone know about the Shadow—not yet.

"There are those within the Order who may view you as an asset," Reed continued, her voice cooling. "And others who might see you as a threat. The symbols that manifested in your room last night have already caused... debate among our ranks."

My stomach twisted. I'd barely been at Ardenmoor for a week, and already people were plotting around me. How much worse could it get?

"What do you want from me?" I asked, my voice steady despite the fear churning inside me.

Reed returned to her desk, her expression unreadable. "For now? Caution. Control. And your cooperation with certain protective measures we'd like to implement in your living quarters."

I nodded, though suspicion prickled at the back of my mind. "And if I refuse?"

"Let's just say that Chancellor Richards' containment methods are significantly less comfortable," she replied, her tone making it clear this wasn't a negotiation.

I left Reed's office with a head full of questions and no answers. The corridors stretched long and empty ahead of me, my footsteps echoing off the stone walls. I was lost in thought, replaying every word Reed had said, when I heard voices from around the corner.

"She's too unstable. If she loses control again..."

"We have protocols for containment. The Order won't wait much longer."

My blood ran cold. I pressed myself against the wall, straining to hear more, but the voices faded as the speakers moved away. Containment. They were talking about me.

Panic tightened my chest. I clenched my fists, forcing myself to breathe slowly. I couldn't let them see me break.

As I rounded the corner, Professor Reed appeared out of nowhere, her expression unreadable but intense.

"You're not as invisible as you think," she said quietly. "If you're not careful, you'll end up like them."

I swallowed hard. "Like who?"

"Your parents," she replied softly. Then she turned and walked away, leaving me frozen in place as the weight of her words crashed down on me.

They hadn't just disappeared, I realized. The Order had done something to them.

And I was next.

I stumbled back to my dorm in a daze, Reed's warning still ringing in my ears. The morning sun had barely cleared the treetops, but already this day felt endless. My mind raced with what I'd learned—the Solstice Order, their factions, my parents' connection to all of it. I checked my watch, realizing I had barely two hours before I was supposed to meet Knox at the west entrance. And after that, Easton at sunset. The thought of facing either of them with this new knowledge made my stomach twist.

Knox wanted to take me to his pack elder to decipher the Shadow's symbols—symbols the Order had already photographed and likely understood better than anyone. And Easton... did he have connections to the Order too? Was that why he recognized my pendant? Everyone seemed to know more about my curse than I did, playing their own angles while I stumbled blindly between them.

I sat on the edge of my bed, head in my hands. I needed to decide who to trust—if anyone. The Order wanted to "contain" me. Knox wanted to "help" me. Easton wanted to "study" me. And somewhere, watching and waiting, the Shadow wanted to claim me. I had noon and sunset to choose my path, and no idea which one wouldn't get me killed.