Chapter 7 – The Forbidden Garden

By the end of the week, I had learned that getting lost at Wolf Academy was less of an accident and more of a lifestyle. The campus seemed to rearrange itself whenever I stopped paying attention. Corridors that should have connected somehow ended at locked doors. Staircases led to floors that were not marked on any map. Even the stone paths outside curved around buildings in ways that made no architectural sense. I should have found that offensive. Instead, I found myself wandering behind the west tower after my final lecture, holding the campus map upside down again.

“At least no one saw me this time,” I muttered.

A gust of wind folded the paper over my fingers. I lowered it and realized I was standing in front of a tall iron gate. Unlike the academy’s main entrance, this one was covered in delicate silver vines. Tiny leaves had been shaped directly into the metal, and at the center rested a crest I did not recognize—a tree surrounded by a crescent moon.

A small plaque beneath it read:

PRIVATE GARDEN

ENTRY BY PERMISSION ONLY

Beyond the gate, purple flowers spilled over pale stone paths. Silver-leaved plants shimmered beneath the late afternoon sun, and somewhere deeper inside, water moved with a soft, steady sound. At the center stood the largest tree I had ever seen. Its trunk was wide enough that four people could not have wrapped their arms around it. Pale branches stretched over the garden like a protective roof, their leaves shimmering silver whenever the breeze moved through them.

Something pulled at me. Not physically. It felt more like remembering a place I had never visited. I stepped closer to the gate. The air smelled different here—fresh rain, crushed leaves, and something faintly sweet. The tightness that had lived beneath my ribs since arriving at the academy began to ease. I lifted my hand toward the latch.

“Students aren’t allowed in there.”

I jumped and nearly dropped the map. Principal Luca stood a few feet behind me. He wore dark trousers and a light shirt with the sleeves folded neatly to his elbows. Without his suit jacket, he looked even younger than usual, though the quiet authority around him remained unchanged.

“I wasn’t going inside,” I said quickly.

His eyes moved to my hand, still hovering near the latch.

“Of course not.”

“I got lost.”

A quiet smile appeared on his face. “You seem to have a talent for that.”

I lowered the map. “Your academy has too many corridors.”

“It has the correct number.”

“That sounds like something the person who owns the building would say.”

His smile deepened. I glanced back at the garden.

“I’ll leave.”

“You don’t have to.”

I looked at him. Luca stepped forward and placed his palm against the silver lock. The metal vines shifted beneath his touch, sliding apart with a whisper. The gate opened. I stared at it.

“The sign says private.”

“It is.”

“And students aren’t allowed.”

“Normally.”

That answer only created more questions. He entered the garden, then turned toward me.

“Come with me.”

I blinked. Wait... what? Was I actually allowed to do that? My eyes darted to the sign.

PRIVATE GARDEN.

ENTRY BY PERMISSION ONLY.

Was this some kind of test? I hesitated. Every sensible part of me screamed that following the mysterious principal into a forbidden garden was exactly how people ended up in trouble. Then the breeze carried the scent of the flowers toward me again. The strange calm returned. I stepped through the gate. The moment I crossed the threshold, the noise of the academy disappeared. No footsteps. No distant shouts from the training grounds. No students whispering about the human who did not belong here. It felt as though an invisible curtain of magic had fallen behind me, sealing the garden away from the rest of the world. I released a breath I had not realized I was holding.

Luca noticed.

“You feel it.”

“Feel what?”

“The garden.”

I looked around. “It’s peaceful.”

“That is one word for it.”

We followed the path between rows of unfamiliar plants. Some glowed faintly beneath the shadows. Others turned their flowers toward Luca as he passed. He touched one dark blue leaf with two fingers.

“Moonbell. It lowers fever.”

A cluster of white flowers folded inward when I approached.

“And those?”

“Silverveil. They react to unfamiliar energy.”

“They don’t like me?”

“They’re cautious.”

“That makes two of us.”

A quiet laugh escaped him. I looked at him in surprise. It was the first time I had heard him laugh. He seemed to realize it too, because his expression softened for a moment before becoming composed again. We continued deeper into the garden. The enormous tree grew larger with every step. Its roots rose through the ground like pale stone, shaping the path around them. Symbols had been carved into the trunk—circles, lines, stars, and the same crest I had seen on the gate. My fingers drifted to the pendant beneath my shirt.

“Does that symbol belong to one of the clans?” I asked.

Luca looked at the tree.

“It belonged to one that existed long before the academy.”

“Which one?”

His silence answered before his words did.

“That story is not mine to tell yet.”

“Yet?”

He glanced at me.

“You ask a great many questions.”

“And you answer almost none of them.”

“I answer what I can.”

“That must be convenient.”

“It rarely is.”

Something in his voice stopped me from replying. For a moment, he looked tired.Not physically. The kind of tired that came from carrying something alone for too long. We reached the edge of the ancient roots. I tilted my head back. The silver leaves caught the sunlight, scattering it across the ground in shifting patterns.

“It’s beautiful,” I whispered.

Luca looked up at the tree, his expression softening.

“It has been waiting for a very long time.”

I frowned.

“The tree?”

He did not answer. Instead, he gently took my hand. His touch was warm and steady. There was nothing romantic in it. Nothing that made me nervous the way Rafael’s nearness did or alert the way Matteo’s attention always did. It simply felt familiar. Safe.

“Come,” Luca said.

He guided me closer until we stood beneath the widest branches. Silver light moved across his face as the leaves stirred overhead.

“Look carefully.”

I followed his gaze. The markings in the bark were not ordinary carvings. A faint glow pulsed beneath them, so dim I might have missed it if he had not brought me closer.

“What are they?”

“Memories.”

I looked at him. “Trees have memories?”

“This one does.”

Without thinking, I lifted my free hand toward the nearest symbol. Before my fingers reached the bark, heat bloomed beneath my shirt. I froze. The warmth spread from the amulet across my chest, gentle but unmistakable. My hand closed around the pendant. It was warm. Luca’s fingers tightened around mine for the briefest moment. When I looked at him, his expression was calm. But something flickered in his blue eyes. Relief. Then it vanished.

“Principal Luca?”

He released my hand. The amulet pulsed once against my palm. And somewhere above us, the ancient silver tree began to whisper.