The Enemy's heir

Eyes That Remember

Chapter Two

Eyes That Remember

The first bell rang across Blackwood Academy, its deep chime echoing through every corridor.

Students hurried to their classrooms, laughter and conversation filling the halls.

Lyra walked among them in silence.

She had memorized the academy map before arriving, yet something kept drawing her attention away from the signs. Every hallway seemed older than the last. Portraits of long-dead headmasters lined the walls, their painted eyes almost lifelike.

As she passed one portrait, a cold shiver raced down her spine.

She stopped.

The old man in the painting wore a dark cloak embroidered with a silver crest. His expression was stern, but it wasn't that which caught her attention.

It was his eyes.

For the briefest moment...

They seemed to move.

Lyra stared.

The portrait became still again.

"...Impossible."

"Are you coming?"

She turned.

Emma stood several feet away, smiling.

"You'll be late on your first day."

Lyra forced herself to look away from the painting.

"Right."

The two girls walked together toward Class 2-A.

"So," Emma said cheerfully, "where did you transfer from?"

"A small town."

"Must've been a huge change."

"It is."

Emma waited for more.

None came.

"You don't talk much, do you?"

Lyra smiled politely.

"I prefer listening."

Emma laughed.

"Well, you'll fit in eventually."

Lyra wasn't so sure.

She hadn't come to fit in.

She had come for answers.

---

Class 2-A buzzed with excitement.

"Did you finish the chemistry assignment?"

"No chance."

"I heard we're getting a new student."

"Really?"

The classroom door opened.

Their homeroom teacher, Mrs. Carter, entered.

The room fell silent.

"Good morning."

"Good morning, ma'am."

Mrs. Carter smiled.

"As you've heard, we have a transfer student joining us today."

She looked toward the hallway.

"Come in."

Lyra stepped inside.

The room grew unusually quiet.

Dozens of curious eyes followed her.

Some admired her.

Some whispered.

Some simply stared.

"My name is Lyra Ashwood."

"I hope we can get along."

Mrs. Carter pointed toward an empty desk near the windows.

"You'll be sitting there."

Lyra nodded.

She walked between the rows of desks.

Halfway there...

She stopped.

A strange sensation tightened around her chest.

Not pain.

Recognition.

Her gaze shifted to the back of the classroom.

A boy sat by the window, reading a book while everyone else watched the new student.

Dark hair.

Gray eyes.

Calm expression.

For the first time since entering the academy...

He looked up.

Their eyes met.

The classroom seemed to disappear.

Rain.

Voices.

Footsteps.

Everything faded into silence.

A sharp image flashed through Lyra's mind.

A burning forest.

A silver sword.

Someone shouting...

"Protect the heir!"

The vision vanished as quickly as it had come.

She blinked.

The boy was still staring at her.

His expression had changed.

Confused.

Almost... troubled.

Mrs. Carter cleared her throat.

"Miss Ashwood?"

Lyra looked away.

"I'm sorry."

She quickly took her seat.

The lesson began.

But neither of them heard a word.

---

Adrian tried to focus on history.

He really did.

But every few minutes, his eyes drifted toward the new girl.

There was something unsettling about her.

Not frightening.

Familiar.

As though he had seen her before.

Impossible.

He would have remembered.

She wasn't the kind of person anyone forgot.

Ethan leaned closer.

"So?"

"So what?"

"The new girl."

Adrian sighed.

"What about her?"

"You've looked at her five times in the last ten minutes."

"I have not."

"You just did again."

Adrian frowned.

"...Did I?"

Ethan grinned.

"This should be interesting."

---

When the bell rang, students poured into the hallway.

Emma immediately grabbed Lyra's arm.

"Come on! I'll show you the library."

"I'm actually looking for the old archives."

Emma blinked.

"The archives?"

"Yes."

"They've been closed for years."

"Why?"

"No one really knows."

Emma lowered her voice.

"Some students say they're haunted."

Lyra almost smiled.

"Ghost stories?"

"Blackwood has lots of them."

Emma pointed toward the oldest wing of the academy.

"They say nobody goes there after sunset."

Before Lyra could ask another question...

A loud crash echoed through the hallway.

Everyone turned.

A stack of books had fallen from a student's arms.

Without thinking, Adrian stepped forward to help.

So did Lyra.

Their hands reached the same book at exactly the same time.

The instant their fingers touched—

A freezing wind swept through the corridor.

Every light flickered.

The hallway fell silent.

Lyra jerked her hand back.

Her heart pounded.

This wasn't normal.

Adrian stared at his own hand.

"...Did you feel that?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Lyra answered quickly.

She picked up another book and handed it to the student.

"Here."

"Th-thank you."

The moment was over.

Students continued walking as though nothing had happened.

Only Adrian and Lyra remained standing still.

Watching each other.

Trying to understand something neither of them could explain.

---

That evening...

Rain still fell over Blackwood Academy.

Lyra unpacked the last of her belongings in Room 214.

Emma had gone downstairs for dinner.

Lyra claimed she wasn't hungry.

The truth was...

She wanted to be alone.

She locked the door.

Closed the curtains.

Then knelt beside her suitcase.

Hidden beneath her clothes was a small wooden box.

Its lock had long since rusted.

She opened it carefully.

Inside lay a faded photograph.

The edges were burned.

Most of the faces were impossible to recognize.

Only one remained clear.

A man wearing a dark military coat.

Sharp features.

Gray eyes.

Cold expression.

Lyra traced the man's face with trembling fingers.

"You..." she whispered.

Then she reached into the box again.

This time, she removed an old newspaper clipping.

The headline read:

BLACKWOOD ACADEMY FOUNDER HONORED FOR OUTSTANDING SERVICE.

Below it was the same man.

Only younger.

And beneath the photograph...

One name.

Alexander Knight.

Lyra closed her eyes.

"The Knight family..."

"So it really is true."

A soft knock echoed from outside her room.

She quickly hid everything.

"Lyra?"

Emma's voice.

"Dinner's almost over."

"I'll be there in a minute."

"Okay!"

Emma walked away.

Lyra waited until the footsteps disappeared.

Then she looked back at the photograph.

"I've found your family."

"But why..."

She hesitated.

"...does Adrian Knight look so much like you?"

---

At that exact moment...

Deep beneath Blackwood Academy...

Somewhere no student knew existed...

A stone door slowly opened.

Dust drifted through the darkness.

Heavy footsteps echoed along an ancient tunnel.

A hooded figure carried a lantern toward a circular chamber carved into the mountain itself.

Six stone statues stood around the room.

Five were cracked with age.

The sixth remained untouched.

At its feet lay an old iron chest wrapped in chains.

The hooded figure knelt.

"It has begun."

The chains rattled.

A deep growl answered from inside the chest.

Not human.

Not animal.

Something... older.

The figure smiled beneath the hood.

"The last survivor has returned."

"And so has..."

"...the heir."

The growling stopped.

For a heartbeat...

Everything became silent.

Then two crimson eyes slowly opened within the darkness.

Far above, thunder shook the academy.

Neither Lyra nor Adrian knew that their arrival had awakened a secret buried for generations.

And before the next full moon...

Blackwood Academy would witness its first bloodshed in over a hundred years. No one knew what was coming .