Chapter 1CHAPTER ONE — MARA WYNN The Hum Finds Me
CHAPTER ONE — MARA WYNN
The Hum Finds Me First
The first thing I notice is the noise.
Not loud. Not sharp.
Just… persistent. Like the building itself forgot how to be quiet.
It’s under my feet. In my teeth. Inside my thoughts, vibrating gently, politely, like it’s waiting for permission to get worse.
Bellweather Academy is still standing, which feels rude considering everything it put people through last time.
The front doors are gone.
Not broken. Not locked. Just absent. In their place is a smooth stretch of wall humming like a refrigerator that knows too much.
“Okay,” I tell the empty hallway. “That’s fine. Doors are optional now.”
The lockers twitch.
I freeze.
The hum deepens—pleased, I think. Like the school noticed me noticing it.
I step back and immediately trip over a desk that was absolutely not there a second ago.
“Fantastic,” I mutter from the floor. “Ambush furniture.”
That’s when someone speaks.
“You always apologize to objects,” a voice says gently. “Even when they hurt you.”
I sit up so fast my spine pops.
There’s a person leaning against the wall—tall, pale, dressed like they wandered out of a half-remembered dream. Their eyes are the wrong kind of calm.
“I’m sorry,” I say automatically. Then: “Wait. No. Who are you?”
They tilt their head. Slowly. Like they’re trying not to spook me.
“Ashwake,” they say. “You used to call me that.”
My heart stutters.
“I don’t know you.”
Their smile is sad. Not offended. Just… patient.
“You will,” they say. “The hum always starts with you.”
