KING OF IVORY AND BLOOD

The Hidden Corner of Aurelius

Seraphina Voss

I didn't dream that night. I drifted between sleep and wakefulness, replaying the image of the hooded figure standing beneath the almond tree.

Every time I closed my eyes, I saw him again. I saw him watching, waiting and by the time dawn crept through the curtains, I had convinced myself of one thing. I wasn't going to let fear ruin my first week at Aurelius University.

If someone wanted to scare me away, they were going to be disappointed. I wasn't leaving not now and not ever.

"You've been awake for a while."

Cassia's sleepy voice drifted across the room.

I looked up from where I sat by the window. "What makes you think that?"

"You've been staring outside like you're solving the mysteries of the universe."

I laughed softly. "Nothing that dramatic."

She stretched before swinging her legs off the bed.

"I hope you're hungry."

"I always am in the morning."

"Perfect."

She pointed at me.

"Today's mission is breakfast before the queues become impossible."

"I thought today's mission was surviving university."

"That too."

Within thirty minutes, we were dressed and walking across campus. The morning air felt cooler than yesterday as students hurried along the pathways carrying notebooks, coffee cups and backpacks.

Some jogged toward the sports complex while others gathered beneath trees to revise orientation materials.

Near the hostel entrance, student volunteers were helping late arrivals locate their residences.

The campus already felt less intimidating. Yesterday, every building looked unfamiliar but today...I could already recognise a few landmarks.

Maybe that was how belonging began. Not all at once but one small step at a time.

After breakfast, instead of returning directly to the Student Centre, Cassia slowed near a narrow stone pathway lined with flowering shrubs.

"I've never been this way."

I looked ahead. Neither had I.

"Want to explore?"

"Shouldn't we be heading to orientation?"

She checked the time on her phone.

"We've got almost forty minutes." She smiled.

"Enough time for a tiny adventure."

I hesitated.

Then smiled back.

"Lead the way."

The pathway curved gently between older parts of the university. Unlike the busy roads near the hostels, this area was peaceful.

Birds perched on ancient trees whose branches stretched high above us.

Farther ahead, the aroma of fresh pastries drifted from a cosy campus café tucked beneath a brick building. Students sat outside sipping tea while discussing course registrations.

"It feels like a completely different campus," I said.

Cassia nodded.

"I like this side better."

We continued walking until the pathway narrowed again.

Then...I stopped. The old administrative building stood ahead, its faded walls looked exactly as I remembered.

Its windows remained covered in dust as the heavy chains still hung across the entrance. In daylight, it should have looked ordinary this time. It felt even more unsettling as though time itself had forgotten it.

A weathered sign leaned against the locked gate.

AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY

ENTRY STRICTLY PROHIBITED

I stepped closer. The chains looked old, not abandoned but maintained and someone still cared enough to keep people out.

"That's strange," Cassia murmured.

"What is?"

"If it's abandoned..."

She pointed at the freshly swept steps.

"...who's cleaning around it?"

I hadn't noticed before. The ground was spotless, not a single fallen leaf rested near the entrance. Someone came here regularly but just not openly.

A groundskeeper appeared from behind the building, pushing a wheelbarrow filled with gardening tools. He looked to be in his sixties, his uniform carried the university emblem stitched above one pocket.

I smiled politely. "Good morning, sir."

He returned the greeting warmly.

"Good morning."

I gestured toward the building.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

"Why is this place closed?"

The smile disappeared from his face. Not dramatically but just enough for me to notice.

He looked at the building before answering. "Some places stay closed for good reasons."

I waited. Surely there was more and instead, he adjusted his cap.

"You young people should enjoy the university."

His voice had become noticeably quieter.

"There are better places to spend your time."

Without another word, he pushed the wheelbarrow away.

Cassia frowned.

"That was..." "Weird."

She nodded.

"Very."

I looked back at the building one last time as questions were beginning to pile up and I had a feeling the answers were hiding somewhere nearby.

"We still have a little time," I said.

Cassia looked at me suspiciously. "What are you planning?"

"I want to visit the library."

She laughed.

"We're three days into university."

"So?"

"You already want to study?"

"I'm not studying."

"Then?"

I hesitated. "I just want to check something."

She studied my face for a moment before smiling.

"I'll come with you."

The Grand Library was quieter than yesterday. Only a handful of students occupied the reading areas as most freshers were still attending orientation activities across campus.

I walked directly toward the digital archive section.

A librarian greeted us politely. "Can I help you?"

"Yes." I smiled.

"I'm looking for information about a former lecturer."

She nodded.

"Name?"

I swallowed. "Dr. Elias Voss."

Her fingers moved across the keyboard. A few seconds passed, she frowned and then searched again but found nothing.

"Could you check once more?"

She did again but nothing.

"I'm sorry," she said gently.

"No records found."

I stared at the screen. "That's impossible."

She looked apologetic.

"If he taught here, there should normally be personnel records."

I leaned closer.

"Research publications?"

She searched again. Nothing.

"Faculty directory?" Nothing.

"Conference papers?" Still nothing.

It was as though my father had never existed. A strange emptiness settled inside me but dad had spoken about Aurelius with pride. He'd told me stories about long nights in laboratories, about students who challenged him with impossible questions, about friendships that lasted decades. Those memories had been real.

So why...Why couldn't I find a single trace of him?

"I'll keep looking," the librarian offered kindly.

"There may be physical archives that haven't been digitised."

I forced a grateful smile. "Thank you."

But deep down...I already knew something wasn't right.

I thanked the librarian and stepped away from the computer, my mind refusing to accept what I had just seen.

Nothing. Not a single record and not even a mention of my father's name.

Cassia caught up with me as we walked toward one of the quieter aisles lined with towering bookshelves.

"What happened?" she asked softly.

I hesitated. Part of me wanted to tell her everything but instead, I chose the safer version of the truth.

"I was looking for information about my dad."

She nodded. "And?"

"They couldn't find anything."

Her eyebrows drew together. "Maybe the system is incomplete?"

"Maybe." I wanted to believe that, i really did but something deep inside me whispered otherwise.

Dad had spent years talking about Aurelius University. He had spoken of research projects, conferences, students he had mentored, and colleagues who had become lifelong friends.

A man couldn't spend years in a place and leave behind absolutely nothing unless someone had made sure of it and that thought sent a chill through me.

We wandered deeper into the library. Unlike the lively reading hall near the entrance, this section felt almost forgotten.

I traced my fingers lightly along a row of history books. Every title represented someone's effort to preserve the past but yet my father's history had vanished.

How could an entire life simply... disappear?

"You look like you're carrying the weight of the world." The familiar voice made me turn.

Kael stood at the end of the aisle, holding two books beneath one arm. He wore a simple navy polo shirt and dark jeans, nothing about him suggested the successful entrepreneur everyone admired. If anything, he looked like another student who had wandered into the wrong aisle.

I smiled politely. "I didn't expect to see you here."

He glanced around. "I spend more time in this library than most people think."

His eyes shifted toward the archive request slip still clutched in my hand.

"Research?"

"Something like that."

He tilted his head slightly. "I thought most freshers would still be exploring cafés."

Cassia laughed before I could answer.

"She explored the library instead."

"I see."

There was amusement in his voice, but not mockery.

"I guess everyone starts university differently."

For a moment, none of us spoke. Then Kael looked at me again.

"You seem disappointed."

I looked down at the folded request slip in my hand. "I couldn't find what I was looking for."

He didn't ask what it was.

Instead, he leaned lightly against the bookshelf.

"My grandfather used to tell me something."

I waited.

"'The oldest answers are usually buried beneath the newest questions.'"

I frowned thoughtfully.

"What does that mean?"

He smiled.

"I've spent years trying to figure that out myself."

Cassia chuckled.

"That's either very wise or very confusing."

"Maybe both."

For the first time since entering the library, I found myself smiling. Not because my questions had been answered but because someone had reminded me that not every mystery had to be solved immediately.

"Well," Kael said, adjusting the books beneath his arm, "I should let you two continue your search."

He looked at me one last time.

"I hope you find what you're looking for."

His words lingered long after he disappeared around the corner.

"I like him," Cassia announced.

I blinked.

"You've spoken to him twice."

"So have you."

"That's different."

"How?"

I searched for an answer.

"I don't know."

She folded her arms.

"You smiled again."

"Oh, not this."

"I'm just making observations."

"I've known him for less than twenty-four hours."

"I'm aware."

She grinned mischievously.

"But you've smiled both times."

I shook my head, trying to hide my embarrassment. "Can we please talk about something else?"

She laughed.

"Fine."

"But I'm not wrong."

I refused to give her the satisfaction of replying. We left the library shortly afterward.

Back at the hostel, Cassia excused herself to visit another room after receiving a message from a girl we'd met during breakfast.

"I won't be long," she said.

"Take your time."

Once the door closed behind her, silence settled over the room. I walked slowly toward my desk.

My father's photograph still stood where I'd placed it on the first day. I picked it up carefully as his familiar smile looked back at me.

"You told me this university changed your life," I whispered. "So why is it pretending you were never here?"

My fingers tightened around the frame. I suddenly remembered something he'd once said when I was much younger.

"If people ever try to erase the truth, don't stop asking questions, Seraphina. The truth doesn't disappear. It only hides."

At the time, I thought he was talking about science and now, i wasn't so sure. I placed the photograph back on the desk.

"Dad..."

My voice barely rose above a whisper.

"I don't know what happened to you."

"I don't know who wants your memory buried."

"But I promise you this." "I won't stop looking." "No matter where the answers lead."

As I finished speaking, a cool breeze slipped through the slightly open window. The pages of my notebook fluttered on the desk before settling again. I stood there for several seconds, staring at them as my curiosity had become something stronger filled with determination.

Someone had erased my father's past and i was going to find out why.