philipchoco
Two years ago, Celestine "Cela" Rhyne, the brightest and most daring member of Ashthorne Academy's elite Ten, vanished in the Observatory Tower during a violent storm. No body was ever found, no evidence remained, and the case was closed. The academy moved on-but Elara Aisha Kairova Valen, her best friend, never could.
At sixteen, Elara begged her father, a seasoned detective, to reopen the investigation. He refused. Her mother urged her to move on. But Elara could not. The night Celestine disappeared replayed endlessly in her mind-the wind tearing through the stone corridors, the thunder echoing her screams, the shadows stretching across the floor like grasping fingers. She vowed to uncover the truth, no matter the cost.
Now eighteen, Elara returns to Ashthorne Academy, determined and relentless. The halls are beautiful yet intimidating, filled with polished stone, hidden corridors, and centuries of secrets. The academy's elite Ten move within its walls, each brilliant, dangerous, and holding fragments of the mystery Celestine left behind:
Lucien Valehart, calm and calculating; Eren Haylock, charming yet obsessively focused on Elara; Soren Aldric, sharp and brutally honest; Selene Arabelle Crowhurst, fragile yet tied to the past; Lysandra Mireille Ardein, ambitious and cold; Kaida Everlin, loyal but burdened; Mira Solenne, quiet and observant; Daejin Ryu, logical and detached; Aria Wynnford, relentless and untrusting.
Every corner of Ashthorne hides secrets-the Drowned Library, Mirror Studio, White Garden, and Observatory Tower all hold pieces of a dangerous puzzle. In a school where brilliance masks darkness, and perfection hides lies, Elara must navigate deception, obsession, and betrayal to uncover what really happened to Celestine Rhyne-and survive the shadows that lurk behind every polished door.