✨ Chapter 32 – Into the Tunnels Below
The academy was restless that night.
Wind rattled the windows.
Lanterns flickered even when there was no breeze.
The moonlight trembled over the courtyard as if it sensed the wrongness below ground.
Ariana paced beside Aster's bed in the infirmary.
Aster's breathing was soft and steady, her curly hair spread over the pillow like a halo.
She looked peaceful…
Until her tiny hand twitched.
Aster's eyes snapped open.
"Ariana," she whispered urgently.
Ariana rushed to her side.
"Aster? What's wrong? Are you hurting?"
The little girl shook her head.
"No. But… the quiet lady… she's not alone."
Ariana froze.
Kai, who'd been pacing in the hallway, stepped inside immediately.
"Aster?"
Aster sat upright, clutching Ariana's sleeve.
"She's talking to someone. A shadow. It's not a person. Not a voice. It's like… a moving hole."
Ariana shivered.
"The corruption?"
Aster nodded, expression frightened.
"It's telling her to hurry. To open something. They need her to open something."
Ariana felt her stomach twist.
Kai knelt at Aster's bedside.
"Where is she now, baby?"
Aster pointed downward.
"Under the school. Very deep. Where the air smells old."
Ariana exchanged a horrified look with Kai.
Zane had mentioned there were old tunnels beneath the academy — forgotten maintenance paths and ancient channels built before the school existed.
"Aster," Ariana whispered, brushing her hair, "can you feel exactly where?"
Aster frowned, concentrating.
"She's… moving like a spider. Fast. But the biggest feeling is… a door."
"A door?" Kai asked.
Aster nodded quickly.
"A bad door. A door made of magic. Like it wants to wake up."
Ariana's wolf snarled inside her chest.
**"Door of roots. Door of decay. A hungry door."**
Ariana shuddered.
Kai stood abruptly.
"We're going. Now."
Aster grabbed Ariana's hand again.
"Be careful," she whispered. "The tunnels are hungry."
Ariana kissed her forehead softly.
"We'll come back."
Aster nodded, eyes wide with fear but trusting.
---
## **To the Lower Tunnels**
The Pillars met them outside the infirmary, already armed and tense.
Rylan bounced on his feet.
"This better be the final hide-and-seek run. I'm tired of chasing creepy teachers."
Calen snorted.
"You're tired? I froze my eyebrows in that greenhouse blast."
Zane ignored them both.
"We need to reach the entrance before she gets deeper. The tunnels are a maze."
Loren joined them too, cloak on, expression grim.
"I know three entrances. One is blocked. One is sealed. That leaves the old drain shaft."
Kai nodded.
"Lead the way."
Ariana walked beside him, their hands brushing occasionally.
She didn't know if he did it on purpose, but every time he touched her, her wolf quieted for a moment.
They reached the drain shaft—
a circular, rusted iron grate near the old bell tower.
Loren removed three protective runes and lifted the grate carefully.
A cold gust of air wafted upward.
Ariana shivered.
It smelled like mold, stone, and something ancient.
Kai jumped down first.
"Come on," he said quietly.
"I'll catch you."
Ariana didn't hesitate.
She stepped to the edge—
and dropped.
Strong arms caught her instantly.
Kai set her down gently.
"You okay?"
She nodded.
"Yeah."
Rylan dropped next, almost flattening Kai.
"WATCH IT," Kai snapped.
Rylan shrugged. "You said 'come on'. I came."
Calen dropped silently.
Zane descended with psychic balance.
Loren followed last and sealed the grate above them.
"Alright," he whispered.
"Let's find her."
---
## **Inside the Tunnels**
The underground tunnels were ancient stone passages—
high ceilings, dripping water, moss-covered walls.
Torches flickered on their own, enchanted centuries ago.
Ariana ran her fingers along the wall.
Her wolf whispered:
**"Old magic sleeps here. Older than the academy."**
Kai stayed at her side.
"Tell us when you feel her."
Ariana closed her eyes briefly.
Through the lunar bond
Through Aster's lingering touch
Through her wolf's senses
She felt it.
A pulse.
A faint tug.
Like a heartbeat from far away.
"She's close," Ariana whispered. "This way."
They followed her deep into the tunnels.
But the deeper they went—
the colder it became.
The stones frosted over.
The torches dimmed.
The air tasted like rust and old wounds.
Zane's eyes flashed.
"I sense a spell. A big one."
A sudden gust of wind—
unnatural wind—
blew through the tunnel.
Ariana stopped.
Kai immediately blocked her with his arm.
"What is it?" he whispered.
"My wolf…" Ariana breathed.
"She's scared."
Rylan tensed.
"Okay, that's our cue to leave—"
But Ariana's wolf forced a single word into Ariana's mind:
**"Run."**
Her pulse spiked.
"Kai—we need to move—"
Too late.
A section of wall to their right shuddered—
and burst inward.
Something lunged at Ariana.
Fast.
Silent.
Wrong.
Kai reacted before thought.
He shoved Ariana behind him—hard—
and slammed into the creature mid-air.
A burst of golden flame exploded from his hands.
Rylan cursed.
"Is that—?!"
Calen paled.
"Oh hell."
The creature hissed.
It wasn't a vampire.
It wasn't a corrupted plant.
It was—
Human.
A teacher's robe.
But the skin beneath…
It crawled.
Shifted.
Bulged like writhing roots.
Myrra.
Except not fully Myrra anymore.
Ariana gasped.
"No—"
The creature lunged again—
Kai snapped.
His aura flared gold, his wolf pushing hard against his human form.
"Ariana, get back!" he roared.
Ariana stumbled as heat exploded from him.
"Kai—stop—you're shifting too far—!"
But Kai didn't hear her.
Couldn't hear her.
The creature leapt—
Kai slammed it into the floor, claws tearing into corrupted vine-flesh.
"KAI!" Ariana screamed.
She ran forward without thinking—
only for Zane to grab her arm.
"Don't! He'll lose control!"
Ariana stared in horror.
Kai's eyes glowed fully golden.
Fangs bared.
Wolf aura wild.
He was seconds away from shifting uncontrollably.
"Kai!" Ariana shouted, desperate.
"Please—look at me!"
But he didn't.
His wolf had taken the lead.
The creature shrieked—
twisting its body into a tendril of black roots—
slipping out of Kai's grip and fleeing down the tunnel.
Kai let out a murderous growl and moved to chase it.
Ariana acted on instinct.
She grabbed his wrist.
"Kai—STOP!"
The moment her hand touched him—
silver light burst between them.
Kai froze.
His golden eyes flickered.
"A-Ariana…?"
Her voice trembled but steady.
"Yes. I'm here. Come back to me."
Kai blinked.
His breathing slowed.
His wolf receded.
Finally—
He sagged forward, catching himself against the wall.
Ariana wrapped her arms around him without thinking.
"You're okay," she whispered. "You're okay."
Kai pressed his forehead against hers, shaking.
"I almost—"
He swallowed hard.
"I almost hurt you. I can't— Ariana, I can't lose control near you."
Ariana tightened her arms.
"You didn't hurt me. And you won't."
His hands curled in her cloak.
He didn't let go.
Loren coughed loudly.
Rylan fake-gagged.
Calen rolled his eyes.
"Oh just kiss already."
Zane ignored them all.
"Myrra is retreating," he said quietly.
"We follow now. Before she reaches the door."
Ariana pulled back slightly, brushing Kai's cheek.
"You okay?"
Kai nodded shakily.
"Yes. Because of you."
Ariana's cheeks warmed.
But her wolf pressed forward urgently.
**"Door ahead. Dark door. Wake not the root."**
Ariana turned toward the direction Myrra fled.
"We have to hurry. She's going to the door Aster warned about."
Kai stood beside her again, steady now.
"Then let's end this."
They ran deeper into the tunnels—
Toward a sealed chamber…
And whatever Myrra wanted to open.
---