Entry One: Splinters in the Silence
Malrik's words echoed in my mind long after he vanished into the shadows.
"You can't hide from me. Not forever."
Even now, the threat lingered like smoke, thick and choking.
I lay awake in my room, the moonlight slipping through cracks in the curtains, casting cold silver patterns on the stone floor. The academy was silent—too silent. Every creak in the walls felt like a whisper, every shadow a pair of eyes watching.
My fingers trembled as I traced the edge of the blanket, trying to anchor myself. My heart pounded against my ribs like a caged thing desperate to break free.
The bond with Kael thrummed beneath my skin, a wild ember I could neither soothe nor ignore. Yet now, in this quiet, I felt its pulse falter, like a warning that something was wrong.
I remembered the voice from my dream—the one that wasn't mine, or maybe it was—a whisper threading through my thoughts:
"You can't hide from yourself."
I wanted to scream, to run, to bury myself in the fire or shadows that lived inside me.
But the room was empty.
Kael was gone.
Entry Two: Absence
The cold sheets beside me felt like a hollow mockery.
I pulled my knees to my chest and stared at the door, half-expecting him to appear, fire flickering in his palm, that faint, rebellious smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.
But there was only silence.
When morning came, I searched the halls for him.
He was nowhere.
The library was empty except for flickering candlelight and dust motes swirling in the air.
I found no note, no explanation.
Just absence.
The academy felt colder than ever.
Entry Three: Suspicion Tightens
At breakfast, I caught Jaren's eyes from across the hall.
He was sitting with his usual group, but his gaze didn't linger on them. It was fixed on me.
There was something hard and unreadable in his expression.
When I passed him, he stepped forward.
"You've been avoiding me," he said quietly.
I shrugged, but his persistence didn't wane.
"You think Kael's your salvation. You think he's the only one who understands you."
I frowned. "Why does that matter?"
"Because," he said, voice low enough for only me, "Kael is hiding things. Dangerous things."
My breath caught. "And you're not?"
Jaren's jaw tightened, his eyes flickering with something dark—guilt? Regret? Or something else.
"I'm just trying to protect you," he said, voice strained, before walking away.
His warning settled heavy in my chest.
What did he mean? What was Kael hiding?
Entry Four: The Rift
Later that day, I found Kael at our secret alcove near the northern observatory.
The wind whipped around him, tugging his dark hair across his face.
His fire pulsed faintly, more like a dying ember than the roaring flame I knew.
"You left," I said, voice breaking the silence.
He didn't turn immediately.
"I needed to think," he finally replied, voice hollow.
"About Malrik?"
"No. About us."
His words hit me like a punch.
"This bond," he continued, "it's growing too wild. Too dangerous. We can't afford to lose control—not now."
I stepped closer, heart pounding.
"We already lost control that night. But that doesn't mean we stop fighting."
Kael looked at me, eyes brightening with a flicker of hope.
"Then no more secrets."
"No more running."
We clasped hands, shadows curling like smoke around our fingers, fire flaring to life between us.
Entry Five: Vanishing Light
The next day shattered what little peace I'd found.
Neris was missing.
She didn't show up for breakfast or training.
At first, I thought she was sick.
But when the search parties returned with a scarf—her scarf—half-buried in snow and stained with fresh blood, hope died.
Lira cried openly. Nia went cold and silent.
I stood frozen, heart wrenching in my chest.
The professors tried to calm us, insisting it could be a trick, a false lead.
But we knew better.
Someone had taken Neris.
Entry Six: Grief and Fire
Kael found me in the library later that night, curled over a dusty tome I barely read.
"I should have been with her," I whispered.
"You don't know that," Kael said softly.
"I do. Neris never went out alone. Someone lured her."
His fire pulsed beneath his skin, a dull glow, echoing my own aching grief.
We sat in silence, the weight of loss hanging between us.
Our bond thrummed, but now it felt fragile, strained—like a thread stretched too thin.
Entry Seven: The Note
Returning to my room, I found a slip of paper beneath the door.
No seal. No name.
Just four words, scrawled hastily:
He's not your enemy.
Cold dread sank into my stomach.
Not Kael.
Jaren.
The man watching from the shadows, the one whose loyalty I'd questioned.
The real enemy might be closer than I'd ever imagined.
Entry Eight: Decisions
I sat on my bed, paper trembling in my fingers.
The bond between Kael and me pulled tight.
I had a choice.
Trust Jaren's warning? Or hold onto what little trust remained between me and Kael?
I could feel the academy closing in.
The Bone Creatures lurking beyond the walls.
Malrik's venomous grin.
And the creeping suspicion within.
Tonight, the moon would watch silently.
But inside me, the war was only beginning.