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as they made their way back toward campus, the only sounds being their hurried footsteps and the occasional rustle in the trees. No one wanted to talk about what just happened—not yet—but the energy was different.

Even Julia, who usually couldn't keep quiet if her life depended on it, was dead silent.

Y/N's mind was still racing. That... thing—whatever it was—had toyed with them. It hadn't attacked, hadn't even tried to hurt them. It just watched.

Like it was waiting.

She shivered.

Calixto must have noticed because, out of nowhere, he said, "Scared, human?"

"No, vampire." Y/N rolled her eyes, happy for any excuse to be pissed off instead of terrified. "I'd rather be lost in those woods than stuck here with you."

He smirked. "That can be arranged."

"Oh, screw you—"

Aisha cut in, exasperated. "Can you two shut up for one minute?"

Julia mumbled, "Yeah, some of us are still processing the fact that we were almost murdered by some shadow demon thing."

"Almost murdered is a stretch." Calixto said lazily. "If it wanted us dead, we'd be dead."

Aisha shot him a look. "Wow, that's so comforting."

Cressida, who had been quiet until now, sighed. "We should focus on making it back first."

The group fell silent again, but Y/N noticed something—the more they walked, the closer she and Calixto ended up. It wasn't on purpose—at least, she wasn't doing it on purpose, but every time there was a noise in the trees, she felt herself subconsciously shifting toward him.

And worse?

She knew he noticed.

He didn't say anything, but she caught the faintest smirk on his lips when she accidentally brushed his arm.

Annoying.

He was so annoying.

Still, the distraction was almost enough to stop her from dwelling on what had happened back in the woods.

Almost.

★

By the time they reached the school grounds, the atmosphere was just as chaotic as when they had left. Students were still gathered in groups of five, talking in frantic whispers, while faculty members paced the area, looking deeply stressed.

Y/N caught a glimpse of a familiar brunette speaking to Headmistress Valerie, in an utmost familiarity; somehow the two looked awkwardly acquainted.

Silas?

"Teacher's pet.." she grumbled with almost a glare.

"What was that?" The male next to her questioned with a raised eyebrow as he followed her gaze to the teacher-student pair. "Hmm. I'll make sure to tell him."

"Wait! No wha—"

"Something's off." Cressida murmured, causing the two to pause and the other petrified pair to glance up.

It didn't take long for them to realise something had changed. "Just me or does everyone look way more spooked than before..?" Aisha whispered.

The headmistress and headmaster were standing in the middle of the courtyard, both wearing very serious expressions.They didn't have to wait long to find out what.

Headmaster Lockwood raised his voice, addressing the entire crowd. "Effective immediately, there will be an enforced curfew of 8 PM for all students. No exceptions."

A wave of murmurs spread through the crowd.

'That's 2 hours early for us..!'

'Four for us vampires!'

'This is bullshit.'

'But we're vampires?'

"We're not as fragile as them..'

'It's not fair on anyone!'

Headmistress Valerie continued, her expression unreadable. "No student is to enter the forest under any circumstances. Anyone caught outside the main campus after curfew will be severely punished."

Y/N swallowed.

Well, that's not ominous at all.

"What the hell is going on?" Julia whispered. "They never enforce such early curfews here."

The murmurs grew louder as students whispered among themselves.

Then—"We will not discuss details of the incident at this time," Valerie added.

Y/N felt her stomach drop.

If she were suspicious about what happened, this only made it worse.

No explanations. No reassurances.

Just rules.

Rules meant to keep them in.

Calixto clicked his tongue. "Interesting."

Y/N turned to him, lowering her voice. "You know something?"

His golden eyes flicked toward her, unreadable. "I know a lot of things, human."

Y/N scowled. "Be useful for once and actually say something—"

"Why should I?" His smirk deepened. "You'll just keep coming back to ask me."

Y/N groaned. "You're the worst."

He tilted his head, amused. "And yet you keep ending up next to me."

Y/N immediately took a step away from him. "That was accidental."

Calixto didn't say anything.But he laughed.

Which, in Y/N's opinion, was so much worse.

★

After the announcement, students were immediately sent back to their dorms.

As soon as they reached their room, Aisha flopped onto her bed, exhausted as she removed her hijab. "This school is actually cursed."

Julia nodded. "A hundred percent."

Cressida, still eerily composed, shut the door behind them. "Whatever's happening, it's serious."

Y/N exhaled, sitting on the edge of her bed. "What was that thing?"

No one answered.

Because none of them knew.

And worse?

She had a feeling it wouldn't be the last time they encountered it.