"Hey." Aiva called as he turned to face her.
She stood a few steps behind him now, arms loosely folded as she watched him with an expression that wasn't quite relaxed anymore. The turquoise dress moved gently around her legs as a cool draft slipped through the corridor.
Her eyes drifted briefly toward the hallway Bryce had gone down.
Then back to Adam.
"…can I ask you something?"
Adam raised an eyebrow.
"That serious?"
Aiva hesitated for half a second, then stepped a little closer.
Her voice lowered slightly.
"Is Bryce okay?"
Adam blinked.
"What do you mean?"
She shifted her weight subtly.
"I don't know," she said slowly. "He just… feels different lately."
Her fingers traced lightly along her arm as she thought through the words.
"Like he's distracted. Or stressed. Something like that."
Adam studied her for a moment.
She wasn't accusing.
If anything she looked concerned.
Her gaze drifted briefly toward the corridor again.
"…he's been a little distant," she admitted quietly.
Adam understood the subtext immediately.
Yeah.
The memory of the previous night flickered through his mind, only briefly. The party in the water.
Bryce was with Aiva most of the time but just...
Quiet.
Reserved.
Holding himself back around her in a way that felt… deliberate.
Adam scratched the back of his neck.
"Well," he said slowly, "today's kinda a big day."
Aiva looked back at him.
Adam continued casually.
"Dude's basically running the entire festival."
He gestured loosely toward the castle around them.
"Schedules. Events. Fireworks. Food. Performances. Decorations."
He chuckled lightly.
"Honestly I'm surprised he hasn't collapsed yet."
Aiva's expression softened a little.
Adam leaned his shoulder casually against the stone wall.
"Bryce doesn't really get to enjoy this trip like everyone else," he said. "He's been working since the moment we got here."
Aiva looked down briefly.
Adam added with a small shrug,
"Once tonight's over, he'll probably go back to being his usual annoying self."
That got a faint smile out of her.
"You mean the version of him that doesn't stop talking?"
"Exactly that one."
Aiva laughed quietly.
The tension in her shoulders eased just a little.
"Okay," she said after a moment.
Adam straightened.
"See? Nothing to worry about."
She nodded slowly.
But there was still a tiny crease between her brows.
Adam noticed.
She cares about him.
That much was obvious.
He pushed himself away from the wall.
"Well," he said, clapping his hands lightly once. "I should probably get moving."
Aiva glanced up.
"Fireworks?"
Adam snorted.
"Yeah."
He stretched his arms slightly.
"Apparently I'm responsible for feeding half the island and making sure nobody blows themselves up tonight."
She smiled.
"Good luck with that."
Adam gave a lazy salute.
"Appreciate it."
They stood there another second before Aiva turned and headed down the corridor again, the turquoise dress swaying lightly as she disappeared around the corner.
Adam waited until she was gone.
Then his relaxed posture dropped slightly.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.
The screen lit up instantly.
Anissa
The message sat there exactly where he'd left it.
Adam.
Come to our room.
As soon as possible.
It's important.
Adam stared at it for a moment. Then sighed under his breath.
"Guess I should see what that's about…"
He slipped the phone back into his pocket and started walking.
The castle halls were slowly coming alive now. Students passed by carrying decorations.
Pumpkins.
Paper lanterns.
Bundles of string lights.
Somewhere deeper in the building someone was testing speakers. A bass note rumbled faintly through the stone walls. Halloween preparations were already underway.
Adam walked past them all almost absentmindedly.
His feet moved automatically down the familiar corridors toward the student wing.
But his mind wasn't really on the decorations.
Or the festival.
Or the fireworks.
It was somewhere else entirely.
Tonight.
The word sat heavily in his chest.
He hadn't said anything about it.
Not to Bryce.
Not to Aiva.
Not to anyone.
But the thought had been sitting there ever since he woke up.
Tonight was the full moon.
His fingers curled slightly as he walked.
What's gonna happen…
He didn't know.
He could only assume what his first time was going to be like, He figured everything would spiral into chaos. Violence. Pain. Losing control.
And this island…
This place was packed with students.
Hundreds of them.
Laughing.
Setting up decorations.
Completely unaware.
Adam swallowed slowly.
What if I can't control it?
His steps slowed slightly.
The corridor ahead stretched long and quiet.
Moonlight wasn't here yet.
Just morning sun.
But the thought of it lingered.
That bright, merciless moon rising over the ocean tonight. Calling to something buried deep inside him.
He exhaled slowly through his nose as Luna's voice surfaced in his memory or imagination, he couldn't tell which.
Calm.
Sharp.
Certain.
Don't die tonight.
The words echoed faintly in his mind.
Adam's jaw tightened.
Yeah.
He really didn't want to die tonight.
That realization hit him harder than he expected.
Not some vague instinct.
Not some heroic determination.
Just something simple.
Raw.
I wanna live.
He wanted to make it through the transformation.
Through whatever nightmare waited when the moon reached its peak.
Without dying.
Without hurting anyone.
Without waking up surrounded by blood he couldn't explain.
The thought made his stomach twist.
That's possible… right?
His mind drifted briefly to the Thorn triplets.
Their strange text message. It was like they knew something, he didn't, and that thought didn't give him the comfort he thought it would.
Adam's eyes narrowed slightly as he turned down another hallway. Maybe that's why they were calling him to their room. Maybe they wanted to help him prepare.
Was that what they meant?
He wasn't sure.
But right now…
There was only one place to start.
Adam stopped in front of a familiar door in the student dorm wing.
He stared at it quietly for a moment.
Inside that room waited answers.
Or maybe more problems.
Either way…
Tonight was coming.
And the moon would rise whether he was ready or not.
Adam lifted his hand.
Then knocked.
The sound echoed softly down the hallway.
And somewhere far beyond the castle walls, out over the endless dark ocean…
The coming night waited patiently.