AKADEMIA : Beneath The Surface

She came to Creisleigh to study, not to fall in love (maybe) — or uncover the secrets buried in its glass halls. Isadora entered the academy with one goal: survive its pressure, prove herself, and leave with her name intact. But Creisleigh has a way of testing more than just intelligence. Behind every smile hides ambition, and behind every rule, a secret. Between a boy who knows her past too well and another who sees right through her walls, Isadora finds herself walking a fine line between desire and deception. And when the halls of Creisleigh begin to whisper, she learns the hardest truth of all : not every secret wants to stay buried *** Excerpt She wasn’t watching where she was going. She just ran — through quiet corridors and empty halls — breath shaky, heart pounding. Then a voice cut through the silence — calm, low, almost unreal. “What are you doing here?” She froze. The boy who stood there was nothing like anyone she’d ever met — pale, mysterious, and carrying a presence that felt both haunting and familiar. And somehow, she knew — he was connected to the secrets Creisleigh tried so hard to keep buried.h