Chapter 23
Kieran
She stumbled out of the woods like a fallen angel—
hair loose in long white waves, clothes torn, skin pale and trembling.
For half a heartbeat I forgot how to breathe.
I wanted to run to her.
I wanted to scoop her into my arms.
I wanted to know every place she hurt and every reason why.
But she didn’t look at me.
She went straight to him.
Ash froze when he saw her—eyes wide, chest heaving, bouncing on the balls of his feet like he was holding himself back by sheer force of will.
And she stepped right into his orbit. He handed her a pair of gloves which she quickly pulled on.
She got close.
Close enough that he visibly shook trying not to touch her.
And she smiled.
“Ash,” she whispered.
He made a sound—half laugh, half sob—and looked like he might collapse right there.
Behind me, Dev finally let out a long breath, shoulders sagging as if he’d been holding the whole world up until that moment.
I couldn’t move.
I couldn’t look away.
She was alive.
“Are you hurt?” Ash asked, his voice shaking.
“No. I was just—scared.” She glanced at Dev, whose expression was utterly unreadable.
“We were worried about you.” I forced the words out, aware how clipped they must sound. “You should have come back immediately!”
Ash growled—actually growled—and moved in front of her slightly, like he could shield her from my words.
“Leave her alone.”
“I’m sorry,” she said quickly. “I got lost. Thank you for coming to get me.”
And then—
she did something impossible.
With her covered hand, she reached out toward Ash.
And she touched him.
She placed her gloved hand on his face.
Not reaching for comfort—offering it.
Like she could feel him shaking apart and wanted to steady him first.
His fingers jerked like he’d been struck by lightning, but he didn’t pull away.
If anything, he leaned into it—his whole body softening under the contact.
He looked at her like she’d just handed him the sun.
Dev’s eyebrows rose, just a fraction.
Something sharp twisted in my chest.
She didn’t look at me.
She didn’t reach for me.
She touched him.
Ash exhaled shakily, like he’d been holding his breath since the moment she vanished. “I’ve got you,” he whispered. “I’ve got you, okay?”
Her lip trembled—not much, barely there—but I saw it.
And then her knees dipped.
Ash caught her instantly, hands careful, reverent, not really touching but bracing along her arms.
Dev stepped closer. “She’s exhausted.”
I forced myself to take a breath. “We need to get her inside. Now.”
She looked up at me for the first time.
Not angry.
Not frightened.
Just… distant. Guarded. Like there was something between us now that hadn’t been there before.
“Yeah,” she whispered. “Okay.”
Ash guided her in, slow and steady.
And I followed them—
too aware of the fact that whatever happened out there in the woods…
She hadn’t told us all of it.
She hadn’t told me any of it.
We walked her back toward Night Block. Ash kept hovering so close he nearly tripped over her heels. Dev flanked the other side. I followed behind, unable to stop staring at the dirt on her legs, the leaves in her hair, the exhaustion weighing down every step.
When we reached her dorm, the four of us stopped.
Because banging — loud, frantic, desperate banging — rattled the walls from inside her room.
Jess was planted in front of the door gripping a metal bat like she meant to fight a demon.
The moment she saw Seph, she sagged in relief.
“Thank fuck. Do you know you have a goddamn poltergeist?!”
As if on cue, something slammed into the door again — hard.
Seph froze.
Not with fear.
With guilt.
“Is that… normal?” Dev asked slowly.
Jess pointed the bat at the door. “This has been happening for the last hour. It wants out.”
Seph winced.
“I… didn’t think she’d react this badly.”
“She?” Jess screeched. “She? Seph, what the hell is living in your room?!”
“Nothing dangerous,” Seph said quickly. Too quickly. “I think she’s just… upset.”
“Upset?” Ash echoed, eyes huge. “About what?”
Another violent slam hit the door.
Seph swallowed.
“I might’ve… scared her,” she murmured, voice tight. “I was in the quad when the monster attacked. I think she sensed it.”
Dev stepped closer, eyes narrowed at the door like he could see through it. “There’s nothing in that room with a pulse,” he muttered. “Whatever’s in there… it’s not human.”
Jess’s knuckles tightened on the bat. “Seph. I’m serious. You’re not sleeping in there. You’re coming to my room—”
“No.” Seph’s voice was soft but firm. “She won’t hurt you.”
Jess stared at her like she’d lost her mind. “How do you know that?”
Seph hesitated — just long enough to tell me she did know something.
Then she whispered, “Because… she cares for me.”
Seph reached forward and opened the door. As she did, I spotted several things floating in the air in a frenzy. All of them paused as Seph approached.
The air went icy.
The lights above us flickered twice, like someone was breathing on the bulbs.
But then - the banging stopped.
Instantly.
And all Seph’s pens fell to the floor.
Silence rippled through the hallway.
Seph stepped forward.
“It’s okay,” she whispered. “I’m here. I’m sorry I left.”
Something brushed the other side of the door — a soft scrape. Like an answer only she could interpret.
Her shoulders eased.
Ash looked at me, wide-eyed.
Dev looked at the door like it was a puzzle he suddenly needed to solve.
Jess lowered the bat an inch. “Seph… what the hell is going on?”
Seph forced a small, tired smile.
“She’s a friend. Aren’t you?” she asked the room.
On the desk a pen was picked up and a small smiley face came to life of the discarded pad of paper.
I flinched, looking around warily.
“Seph, what the fuck is it?”
Dev looked at Ash. “Is this your doing?”
“No!” he exclaimed
“I don’t know her name. I think it starts with E. She started communicating with me on my first night here.”
Seph walked over and ran her hands over the desk, as if to soothe the spirit.
“How do you know it’s a she?” Dev asked.
“I don’t know. I guess I feel it. And she doesn’t feel - bad, you know?”
Jess looked at Seph like she’d lost her mind. She glanced at each of us in turn, and I could practically hear the gears grinding in her head.
“What the fuck is it with you attracting the worst nightmares in this place?” she asked — not mean, just… baffled.
“Hey,” I growled automatically.
Ash just grinned, eyes glued to Seph like she’d hung the moon. “It’s because she’s awesome.”
Seph stepped into the middle of the room and looked around. “Can you tell me your full name? Or should I call you E?”
A pencil wobbled, then floated up—jerky, like invisible hands were too weak to hold it.
It hovered above the pad of paper on the desk.
Then slowly, shakily, letters carved themselves into the page:
E
C
H
O
The writing was big.
Uneven.
Childlike.
Jess’s mouth fell open. “Oh my god. You have a baby ghost.”
“Echo,” Seph whispered softly. “Hello, Echo.”
A pencil rolled off the desk and clattered on the floor.
“Seph, maybe you shouldn’t stay here,” I said quietly.
She shot me a glare sharp enough to cut glass. “It’s my room. Of course I’ll stay here.”
I didn’t back down. “We have a suite—one of the biggest in the Institute. We even have a spare room. It’s safer than Night Block.”
“I’m sure your place is great,” she said, voice clipped. “But I answered you already. If you don’t like it, you can leave.”
My jaw tightened. I stepped forward, a growl rising in my throat. “Seph.”
“K, for Christ sake, leave her alone.” Dev snapped.
Seph took a slow breath and turned toward me. “Listen, K. I appreciate your concern. But if I leave now, I’m leaving Jess alone with Echo, and she really wouldn’t like that.”
“Hell the fuck no I wouldn’t,” Jess hissed, still staring at the door like something might come barrelling out of it.
“And besides,” Seph added, “Echo might figure out how to follow me. So I’m fine. Stop trying to fix me.”
“I’m not trying to fix you,” I said, stepping toward her again despite Dev’s warning. “Whether you believe it or not, Seph, I do care what happens to you.”
“Why?” she asked. Flat. Tired. Defeated.
I froze. A thousand answers burned in my throat—none of which I could say.
I watched the light drain from her eyes. “Right,” she murmured. “Just like I thought.”
Something in me snapped. “Why do you have to be so goddamn stubborn?”
She turned away from me toward Ash. “I’m tired.”
Ash nodded, jaw tight. Then he slowly lifted his gaze to me, that feral gleam flickering to life in his eyes—a warning, a threat, a promise.
Ash stepped closer to Seph, slow but deliberate, like he thought she might shatter if he moved too fast.
His eyes—too bright, too wild—tracked every tiny tremor in her body.
I hated the way he looked at her.
I hated that he got to be close when she wouldn’t let me.
Seph swayed. Just a fraction. But enough that my heart slammed against my ribs.
Ash closed his eyes for a second and I felt his power rise around us. A wind that guided her, without touching her skin towards her bed.
He was so gentle with her. I’d never seen him this gentle with anyone.
I went to move towards her bed, but the air thickened in front of me.
Not Ash.
Echo.
She didn’t want me to go closer.
So I stepped back. I left the room.
I watched Dev approach her. I watched him whisper something in her ear.
She nodded, her face twisted in a grimace.
Something about her agreement satisfied him and the three of us left the room.
The door slammed shut behind us.
Jess just stared at us, like she expected us to yell at her.
Instead I nodded.
“Thank you for looking out for her.”
“She’s easy.” Jess said, her voice flat.
Dev scoffed under his breath. “Easy, right.”
But Ash didn’t say a word.
He only stood there, staring at the closed door like he could will it open.
Like he was waiting to be let back inside.
His hand hovered at his cheek—the one she’d touched—fingers trembling like he was trying to hold on to the shape of her.