"What are you doing?"
The voice made Cora jump, photos nearly slipping from her trembling hands. She spun around to find Milo Fox leaning against the lockers, his dark eyes fixed on her with unsettling intensity.
She'd already noticed him watching her before. Milo had transferred to Haven's Bay High a few months ago, and something about him had always seemed off.
Maybe it was the way he lingered in hallways, observing everything but participating in nothing. Maybe it was the knowing look in his eyes, like he carried secrets too heavy to share.
"Do you believe the rumors too?" he asked, his casual tone at odds with his sharp gaze.
"That the curse took him, I mean."
Cora clutched the photos tighter, her heart pounding against her ribs.
"I don't believe in curses," she muttered, turning to leave. She needed to get away from his probing stare, away from the questions she wasn't ready to answer.
But in her haste, one photo slipped from her bag, floating to the floor like a fallen leaf. Before she could grab it, Milo's hand was there, picking it up. She watched as his face changed, the casual mask cracking to reveal something darker underneath.
"Emily Grayson," he said quietly, his voice barely above a whisper.
Cora froze. "You knew her?"
"She was my older brother's girlfriend." His words carried weight, heavy with unspoken history. He handed the photo back, but his eyes lingered on it. "Years ago, before we moved here."
The revelation hit Cora like a physical force. Emily Grayson—another name on the list, another "accident" during the festival. She studied Milo's face, seeing him differently now. Maybe he wasn't just another observer. Maybe he was connected to all of this.
"What do you know about how she died?" Cora asked, her voice steadier than she felt.
Milo's jaw tightened. "Nothing official. Just rumors." He glanced around the empty hallway.
"Things I heard before we even moved here. About a group she was involved with."
Cora's hand went to her bag, where Jaden's list pressed against her notebooks. "What kind of group?"
"An exclusive one. Very secretive." His eyes met hers. "The kind that doesn't like outsiders asking questions."
The way he said it made Cora's skin crawl. She pulled out the list, watching his reaction carefully as she unfolded it. "Like this kind of group?"
Milo's eyes widened slightly as he scanned the names. Something flickered across his face—recognition, maybe fear. "Where did you get this?"
"Jaden gave it to me. Right before he fell."
"Fell," Milo repeated, the word sharp with disbelief. He looked up and down the hallway again. "Not here. Come with me. I need to show you something."
Every instinct told Cora to refuse, to walk away. But she thought of Jaden's desperate warnings, of Emily Grayson's photo, of all the crossed-out names. She followed Milo.
He led her through the woods behind the school, down a narrow path choked with underbrush. The trees pressed close, branches reaching like grasping fingers. After ten minutes of silence, they reached a small clearing. There, half-hidden by overgrown bushes, stood an old shed.
"This is where they used to meet as I know," Milo said, pushing open the weathered door.
"At least, that's what my brother told me."
The shed's interior was dark, musty with decay. Sunlight filtered through gaps in the wooden walls, illuminating dust motes that danced like lost spirits.
Cora's flashlight beam revealed layers of history: burned papers scattered across the floor, wax from melted candles hardened in strange patterns, and on the walls—
"What are those?" she whispered, stepping closer to examine the symbols scratched into the wood.
"No idea," Milo said. "But they match something Emily drew once, in one of her notebooks. Before she died."
Cora traced one symbol with her finger, feeling the rough edges where someone had carved it deep into the wood. "You think this is connected to The Circle?"
"I think Jaden found out something he shouldn't have." Milo's voice was grim. "Just like Emily probably did."
He pulled out his phone, fingers moving quickly across the screen. "There's something else you need to see." He held out the phone, displaying a photo that made Cora's breath catch.
It showed Emily Grayson standing with a group of teens, all smiling at the camera. But it was the figure in the background that drew Cora's attention—partially hidden behind others, but unmistakable.
Callie.
"When was this taken?" Cora asked, her voice hollow.
"A few months before Emily died." Milo took the phone back, his expression dark. "Your friend never mentioned knowing her?"
Cora shook her head, mind racing. Callie had been in Haven's Bay longer than her, and had been part of circles Cora never bothered with. But this? This was something else entirely.