-eng- Ariel Academy-s Secret School Festival -r... -

“You got one too?” she asked, holding up an identical coin.

Every attraction, every game, every seemingly random encounter seemed designed to reveal something about its participant. A mirror maze that showed not your reflection but your fears. A fortune teller who told not your future but your past. A kissing booth manned by a sentient statue that asked, “What do you truly desire?”

Leo had fourteen.

“Leo—what are you doing?”

The rain came down in silver sheets, plastering Ariel Academy’s famous mermaid statue in a way that made it look like she was actually crying. For Leo Chen, a scholarship kid with scuffed shoes and a worn-out umbrella, the weather matched his mood perfectly. -ENG- Ariel Academy-s Secret School Festival -R...

“They’re entry tokens,” Mira realized, after watching a student exchange three coins to enter a door that led to a personal cloud of starlight. “The more you collect, the deeper you can go.”

“That’s it, then,” Mira said softly. She had seventeen coins, but she wasn’t moving toward any door. She was watching him. “You could trade something else.” “You got one too

But Leo noticed something strange. The festival wasn’t just a party. It was a test .