It was dark inside the room. Pitch-black, in fact.
“Hello?” she called out from the doorway. “Is anyone in here?”
Just as she was about to retrace her steps and go back to the reception, the room exploded with light. Alex had to hold her hand up to shield her eyes from the sudden brightness. When she was able to lower her arm again, she stared in shock at the sight before her.
“What the...?” she whispered.
I must have hit my head when I fell into the fountain, she reasoned. It was surely the only explanation for the view in front of her.
The doorway opened into a small forest clearing. Sunlight streamed through the canopy of evergreens and their shadows dappled the mottle-coloured forest floor. The surrounding trees continued further than her eyes could see, with no school buildings in sight.
“It must be some kind of optical illusion,” Alex muttered to herself. She glanced behind her and took in the sterile walls of the corridor before she turned to face the forest again. She couldn’t wrap her head around the different scenery, but something about the dense woodland captivated her attention.
I’ll just have a quick look around, she thought. No one will know. Then I can come back and meet the headmaster.
Decision made, Alex quickly stepped through the doorway before she could change her mind. She expected to hear the crunching noise of dried leaves under her feet, but instead the ground disappeared and suddenly, impossibly, she was catapulted through the air. The wind rushed past her, whooshing by her ears as she flew along at what felt like the speed of light.
Just when she thought she might throw up, everything stopped.
Alex’s heart thumped wildly in her chest. She lay spreadeagled on the ground but had no idea how she’d landed. Her eyes were shut tight, but she could feel the leafy forest floor underneath her; she could smell the woody scent of pine cones in the air; and she could hear noises—branches creaking, birds singing, wind whistling through the trees.
Hesitantly, she opened her eyes and looked around, finding herself lying in the middle of the forest clearing she’d seen through the doorway. But the doorway itself—and the administration building—was nowhere in sight.
The good news was that her airborne journey had mysteriously dried out her sodden clothes and hair. She wasn’t even damp anymore. The bad news was that she had no idea where she was or how she was supposed to get back.
Alex sighed and threw her arms out to the sides, sending leaves scattering. “This new school sucks.”
Two
“That was quite the entrance.”
Alex jumped to her feet, but she had to wait for the resulting dizziness to pass before she was able to look up and find the owner of the unexpected voice.
“Hello,” he said when he had her attention, a slight smirk playing at the corners of his mouth.
Alex had to blink a few times before she could fully appreciate the picture in front of her. He was, without a doubt, the most staggeringly attractive man she had ever laid eyes on. Almost unnaturally so. She guessed him to be in his late twenties or early thirties, and he had honey-coloured hair and bronze skin. He wore black from head to toe, the material finer than anything Alex had ever seen before. The tailored long-sleeved shirt was open at the collar and tapered by a belt at his waist, meeting a pair of leather-like trousers. The contrast between his tanned skin and dark clothing was breathtaking. But more than anything else, it was his strange golden-coloured eyes that captivated her attention and clouded her mind.
“Forgive me for startling you,” he said formally, gesturing towards himself. “My name is Aven.”
“Aven?” she repeated, sounding as dazed as she felt. Seriously, he was practically inhuman with his Greek godlike beauty. It wasn’t her fault she was distracted. “That’s an interesting name.”
“Yes,” he agreed, his tone pensive. “I suppose it is.”
He looked at her like he was waiting for something.
Oh. Right.
“I’m Alex,” she said. “Alexandra Jennings, really, but most people just call me Alex.”
Aven offered his hand and she tentatively took it, expecting a firm shake, but he surprised her by bowing slightly and pressing a tender kiss to the back of her wrist.
“Charmed,” he said, his eyes smouldering.
That’s right, smouldering. It was something she’d only ever read about in books before, not actually witnessed. Alex was surprised when her legs managed to keep her upright. She desperately hoped he wouldn’t notice her blushing. Or swooning.
Alex pulled her hand back and tried to clear her foggy brain. She couldn’t figure out why she was so affected by his presence, even if he was on a whole new level of gorgeous.
It was only the observation that he seemed to know exactly how he was affecting her that allowed Alex to regain some of her composure. She moved a step away from him, hoping the distance would help. His brow furrowed slightly at her less than discreet movement, but his expression cleared quickly.
“Any chance you can explain what just happened to me?” she asked.
He raised one perfectly sculpted eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
“Well...” Alex gestured to the forest around them. “I just walked through a doorway in the middle of the administration building and then, uh, kind of flew here. Where is ‘here’, by the way?”
Aven was looking at her with a curiosity that bordered on incredulity. “You walked through a doorway and ended up somewhere completely different?”
Alex was fully aware of how crazy it sounded. If she hadn’t experienced it herself, she never would have believed it. “I know it sounds mental, but it’s the truth.”
After a lengthy silence where he stared intently at her, Aven said, “That is... most interesting. Tell me, Alexandra, where do you think we are?”
She had to hold back a shiver at the sound of her name falling so gracefully from his lips. Clearing her throat, she looked around the forest again. “Honestly? I have no idea. I can’t even see the academy from here.”
A slow smile began to stretch across Aven’s face, transforming him from beautiful to radiant. But even as Alex struggled to maintain her slipping composure, she felt like there was something not quite right about him. Sure, he oozed charisma and charm, but it almost seemed... tainted.
She shook her head and focused on the leaves under her feet rather than his appearance, trying to clear her mind. “Look, I guess it doesn’t really matter where we are. But I need to get back to the academy and enrol, so do you mind pointing me in the right direction?”
Aven didn’t answer. Instead, he began to circle her like a lion tracking its prey.
Alex couldn’t help but think of all the horror stories she’d heard about psychopaths dragging young women into forests to murder them. There was something decidedly dangerous about this Aven guy, of that she was certain.
“Tell me, Alexandra,” he said, completing his circle and returning to face her, “do you find it at all strange that I happened upon you the moment you arrived here? In the middle of the Ezera Forest, of all places?”
Alex blinked at the unfamiliar name. “The what forest?”
Aven cocked his head slightly. “You’ve never heard of the Ezera?” At her quick negative shake, he asked, “Then tell me, Alexandra, how is it you know of Akarnae?”
“Akarnae?” Alex repeated, mimicking his pronunciation. Ah-kar-nay. How strange. “Never heard of it, sorry.”
“Then to which academy do you seek directions?”
She frowned. “The International Exchange Academy, of course.”
“I’m afraid the only educational institution nearby is Akarnae Academy,” Aven said. “Are you sure you haven’t heard of it?”
“Positive,” Alex said. “But are you sure that’s what it’s called? Because, despite my... flying experience... I can’t be that far from the building I was thrown out of. The International Exchange Academy must be around here somewhere.”
“Oh, Alexandra, you have no idea how pleased I am to have found you,” Aven said, his eyes alight.
Alex took another step away from him as her inner Creep-O-Meter spiked out a warning.
He stepped forward, and she stepped back again. But he just kept moving towards her, his golden eyes glowing from within, trapping her in his gaze.
“I found you here,” he said, “just as it was foretold I would. ‘A chance meeting in the forest of greeting, their destinies will be bound as one...’ Don’t you see, Alexandra?”
She was still trying in vain to put some distance between her and the beautiful yet clearly deranged man, but her retreat ended when she backed into a tree, unable to go any further.
“See what?” she said, her voice quieter than she would have liked.
He stopped directly in front of her and reached out to gently trace his fingers down the line of her cheek. “You are to be my salvation.”
Alex’s eyes widened and then narrowed at his ridiculous statement. Just as she was debating whether to laugh hysterically or knee him hard enough that he’d never reproduce, he took a step away from her and tilted his head as if hearing something in the distance.
He stood like that for a moment before he moved back towards her, even closer than before, and leaned down to whisper in her ear, “I’ll give you some time to settle in and learn how to use your power, and then I shall come for you, Alexandra. Together we will rule all of Medora.”
He flashed his disarming smile again and stepped back, casually walking away and disappearing into the dense forest.
Only when he was completely out of sight did Alex breathe a sigh of relief. What a whack-job!
“Hey, what are you doing out here?”
Alex spun around at the new voice, and in her haste she tripped over a bulging tree root, lost her balance, and sprawled face-first onto the forest floor. She heard the sound of suppressed laughter and groaned quietly into the leafy cushions surrounding her before pushing herself to her feet. In front of her were two guys, both around her age. Unfortunately for her humiliated self, both of them were uncommonly attractive, too.
“Maybe it’s some kind of gene therapy,” Alex muttered.
“What was that?” asked the guy on the right, his blond hair mussed by the wind and his bright blue eyes sparkling with mischief.
“Nothing,” Alex said. “Who are you? And where did you come from?”
“I’m Jordan Sparker,” said the blond, before pointing to his friend. “And this is Bear.”
Bear grinned at her, and it was such a genuinely friendly expression that she unconsciously returned it. Just like Jordan, he also had a mischievous look about him, but his shaggy dark hair and warm brown eyes helped him seem less... devil-may-care.
“And you’re from...?” she prompted.
“The academy,” Bear said. “Where else?”
Alex almost wilted with relief. Finally, some students who could show her the way out of the forest. Never mind that she still had no idea how she’d come to be there in the first place.
“Your turn,” said Jordan. “Same questions.”
“I’m Alexandra Jennings,” she answered. “I’m supposed to be enrolling at the academy today but I was thrown through a doorway and ended up out here. Then this guy came along and went all weird on me, saying that together he and I would one day rule some place called ‘Medora’. That was a fun conversation, let me tell you.”
Both boys looked at her with amusement and she abruptly stopped her rambling.
“I think we’re going to get along really well, Alexandra Jennings,” Jordan said with a grin.
“Alex,” she told him.
He shrugged. “Sure. Now tell us more about what happened with this doorway?”
She repeated the story as best as she could, watching them both for signs of understanding. If anything, they looked more and more excited, though she had no idea why.
“All I really want to do is hand in my enrolment papers, find out where I’m sleeping, and put this whole day behind me,” she concluded.
Jordan turned to Bear and asked, “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
“No question about it,” Bear agreed. “It’ll be a shock for her, but the best way is just to show her.”
“‘Her’ is standing right here, you know,” Alex said pointedly.
“Sorry, Alex,” Bear said. “You’ve just given us a lot to think about. If we’re right, then you’re the first Freyan to come to Medora in thousands of years. If not more. This is huge.”
“Epic,” Jordan said.
Alex looked from one of them to the other and asked, “What’s a Freyan?”
Bear turned to Jordan who cleared his throat and said, “Freyan is the name we use for someone who comes from Freya, the Original Earth. Medora is our world, which is Second Earth—kind of like a parallel Earth, but different. If we’re right about what’s happened to you, then you’re from another world.”
Alex stared blankly for a beat, waiting for them to jokingly cry, ‘gotcha!’ but their earnest expressions didn’t falter.
“Right,” she deadpanned. She was so not in the mood for any more first-day-at-the-new-school pranks. “I’d say it’s been great chatting with you, but... well, nope. Falling into the fountain was bad enough, you don’t need to continue this ‘let’s punk the newbie’ charade. So, thanks for the welcome, but I’ll just find my own way back.”
Alex chose a direction at random and headed straight into the trees. She half-expected Jordan and Bear to try and stop her from leaving, but they let her walk away without argument. She heard them following her and whispering to one another, but she didn’t deviate from her onward mission.
It took less than five minutes before the density of the forest began to lessen. The boys moved up beside Alex and together the three of them stepped out from under the canopy of trees.
“But—What—How?” Alex stared incredulously at the view, speechless.
Directly in front of them lay a beautiful lake, glistening in the late afternoon sunset. The forest where they stood led straight down to the water’s edge, and both the trees and the lake continued on to her right, much further than she could see. To her left, the forest cleared out into a grassy field which bordered the curve of the lake. Alex could even see a few horses grazing in the distance, adding to the picturesque image.
Further on from the fields and resting atop a small hill were a cluster of buildings, each one different from the next. Some looked like they were from the Dark Ages, while others looked as if they’d been built just yesterday. Two in particular stood out to Alex, if only because of their contrasting forms: one was a multi-storied U-shaped complex that was almost futuristic in design, and the other was a tower-like structure in the middle of the campus that looked like it belonged in a Medieval Weekly magazine.
“Welcome to Akarnae, Alex,” Jordan said.
“What is this place?” she managed to say. “Where’s the International Exchange Academy?”
“We need to tell you some things that you’re not going to believe,” Bear said, “but you have to hear us out before you decide to ignore us, okay?”
She nodded absentmindedly, distracted by the picture in front of her. Where was she?
“Alex, focus,” Bear said firmly, turning her to face them.
Seeing their serious expressions, she hesitantly said, “Okay, I’m listening.”
They led her over to a fallen tree and made her sit down while they spent the next few minutes describing an impossible reality. When they were finished, she looked at them apprehensively, torn between laughter and tears.
“Let me get this straight,” she said. “According to you, I’m from another world, a world that was once identical to your own—this ‘Medora’ place—but over time the two places changed and became... different places?”
Yeah, that was really articulate. But they nodded, so she continued, “And people from my Earth—sorry, ‘Freya’—don’t kn
ow about Medora or how to get here?”
When they nodded again, she asked, “Then how do you explain me?”
“No idea,” Jordan said, grinning widely. “But I reckon we’ll have fun trying to figure that out.”
Alex looked from him to Bear and asked, “Are you aliens?” When both boys burst out laughing, she frowned at them. “Different worlds? Hel-lo! It’s not that strange a question, especially considering I feel like I’m the leading character in some kind of alternate reality movie. And you’ve just told me that there are all kinds of different beings in your world, not just humans. Give a girl a break, would you?”
“Sorry, Alex,” Bear said, still chuckling. “Rest assured, we’re as human as you are.”
Alex let that settle before her brain skipped a million miles ahead. “If I’m in another world, how can I understand you, and vice versa? How do you know English if there’s no England here?”
Even Alex had to admit that she was beginning to sound a little hysterical, but it was still a valid question, and one of many that were swirling around her head. Perhaps she should have asked something more pressing, though. Like, if she truly was in a different world, how was she going to get home again? Especially since she didn’t even know why—or how—she’d arrived to begin with. And her parents... Well, at least there was something good to be said about their inability to be contacted, since they would totally freak out if they learned she was missing. Alex shuddered just thinking about their reactions—or perhaps she shuddered because she was beginning to understand the gravity of her situation.
“English, England... I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Jordan said. “We’re speaking Medoran, or the common tongue, and since you seem to understand it just fine, then I guess we can presume there’s some kind of cross-world comparison. Let’s just be thankful that we don’t have to mime this entire conversation to each other, and leave it at that.”
Alex figured she couldn’t expect much more of an explanation, so she decided to move on. “Let’s talk about this school of yours,” she said, thinking over everything they’d told her in their ‘welcome to our world’ speech. “You mentioned something about Akarnae being a school for the gifted. What does that mean?”
Star Page 23