Bound to nothingness

Chapter 10:"The verdict. "

The iron latches on the wooden case snapped open, breaking the silence in the Great Hall. From the back row, Nyla stood still, her fingers hooked tightly into the fabric of Emily’s sleeve.

When Andrew lifted the lid, she couldn't see past his shoulders. Then he reached inside and pulled out a folded sheet of paper.

Nyla recognized the yellowed paper immediately. It was the letter from her father. she had tucked safely into her coat pocket before they ever set foot near the Hollow.

"What is that?" someone behind her whispered.

Seraphina took the paper from Andrew, unfolding it with deliberate care as her eyes scanned the lines. "This was recovered near the eastern boundary," she announced, her voice carrying easily across the room.

A wave of quiet chatter rippled through the hall. Nyla tuned it out, her mind stuck on a single frustrating question: How?

For a brief, foolish second, she thought of Karl. He had grabbed her in the dark, pulling her back into the shadows with an arm pinned around her waist. His hand had been right near her coat. But she quickly forced the thought aside. No, that was ridiculous. She must have just dropped it somewhere along the path.

Seraphina looked up from the page. "Miss Vale."

Nyla swallowed the lump forming in her throat. "Yes?"

"Is this yours?"

Every face in the room turned toward her. Nyla gave a small, stiff nod. "Yes."

The murmurs grew louder. Beside her, Emily leaned in closer. "That doesn't prove anything," she muttered under her breath.

"Your name is written on it," Seraphina said, holding the paper up.

"It's from my father."

"Then why was it found past the eastern barrier?"

"I don't know."

A boy near the front row let out a scoff. "How convenient."

Emily snapped around to glare at him. "Keep your mouth shut."

"Emily, don't," Nyla warned softly, though her friend just shook her head.

Seraphina kept her attention fixed entirely on Nyla. "Did you go into the Forbidden Land last night?"

Nyla froze. She couldn't tell the truth...not about the dark woods of the Hollow, not about Karl, and certainly not about her friends.

"No," she said. The lie sounded small and weak in the massive hall.

A few students traded skeptical looks, which didn't escape Seraphina's notice. "Then explain how your personal letter ended up beside a breached boundary."

"I can't. I don't know how it got there."

"And you expect us to accept that?"

Nyla pressed her lips together, fighting the urge to look away. "I don't have another explanation for you."

Seraphina didn't push further. Instead, she gestured to Andrew, who reached back into the case and produced a small bundle wrapped in gray cloth. He unrolled it on the table, revealing a jagged chunk of dark, cloudy crystal.

Professor Voss, who had been standing quietly off to the side, took a sharp step forward. "Where did you find that?"

"The eastern perimeter," Andrew replied.

Seraphina looked down at the shard. "Test it."

Another professor stepped up, setting the crystal onto a small silver plate. He placed two fingers on the rim, channeling a faint blue ring of energy across the metal, but the shard remained completely inert. He frowned, muttered something under his breath, and tried again. The blue light flared brighter.

This time, deep within the dark crystal, a tiny spark flickered.

The room immediately broke into noise.

"She has magic?"

"I thought her testing came back completely blank."

"How is that possible?"

Nyla stared at the glowing piece of stone, panic bubbling up inside her. "I'm not doing that."

Nobody paid any attention to her denial. The professor picked up the plate and stepped off the platform, heading straight for her. "Bring it closer."

Nyla took a step back, her hands instinctively pulling away. "Why?"

"Hold out your hand, Miss Vale," Seraphina commanded from the front.

With dozens of eyes tracking her every move, Nyla knew she had no choice. She extended her right hand, keeping her palm flat. The professor moved the silver plate within an inch of her skin.

For three long seconds, nothing happened. Then, a sharp pulse of light flashed inside the stone.

Nyla yanked her hand back as if she'd been burned, but the damage was done. The hall went dead silent before breaking into loud accusations.

"There it is."

"See? She's lying."

"I didn't do it!" Nyla's voice cracked as she looked around at the hostile faces. "I swear, I didn't!"

"That is enough," Professor Voss called out, her clear voice cutting through the noise. She walked over to the table and stared down at the fragment. "The shard reacted, yes, but a brief pulse doesn't prove Miss Vale breached the perimeter."

"It responded directly to her," one of the senior faculty argued.

"Just as the resonance stone did during her entrance exam," Voss countered smoothly.

Nyla looked up, surprised.

Voss turned to face the room. "When I evaluated Miss Vale, the stone registered zero active signature. In fact, it cracked when I attempted to force energy through it. So if we are using crystal reactions as solid evidence, we first need to explain why a student with no usable magic is suddenly producing faint sparks from a broken artifact."

The faculty members looked at one another, momentarily silenced.

Seraphina narrowed her eyes. "Are you saying the test is invalid?"

"I am saying a flickering piece of scrap metal isn't enough to condemn a student," Voss replied. "And it certainly doesn't explain how she could have crossed a ward that blocks non-magical entry."

Seraphina considered this for a long moment before folding her arms. "Miss Vale, did you attempt to open or cross the eastern barrier last night?"

Nyla thought of Lucien's strange brass key, the way the silver light had split open to let them through, and Karl's sudden appearance in the dark.

"No," she said quietly. It was another lie, but she couldn't drag Lucien, Emily, and Elsie into this.

Seraphina looked at the remaining professors, then back at Nyla. "Your file shows no magic signature, which means you shouldn't have been able to pass through the boundary on your own...unless someone opened it for you."

Nyla held her breath. Someone had opened it. But as she stood there, another thought crept in: What was Karl doing out there in the first place? How did he know what was hunting us?

Seraphina picked up the folded letter one last time, looking at it thoughtfully before handing it back to Andrew. "We will continue investigating the boundary breach. Until we have clear answers, Miss Vale, you are strictly forbidden from going anywhere near the eastern grounds."

"Understood, Headmistress," Nyla said quickly.

"You are dismissed. Return to your quarters."

Nyla didn't wait for a second invitation. She turned and hurried out of the Great Hall before anyone could object.

The cool air hit her face, and she finally let out a long, ragged exhale. Her chest felt tight. The whole situation was spinning out of control, her father's letter showing up in the woods, the crystal reacting to her skin, and Professor Voss stepping in to save her for reasons she couldn't begin to guess.

She wiped a streak of sweat from her forehead and kept walking, eager to hide in her dorm room.

As she rounded the turn toward the residential wing, she stopped short.

Karl was leaning against the stone wall on the far side of the corridor, watching her. His arms were crossed, and the look on his face wasn't relief— it was a heavy mix of frustration and quiet anger.

Nyla lingered near the archway, unsure of what to do. Despite his cold expression, she couldn't forget the way he had pulled her out of danger in the woods, keeping her quiet while the creature passed. He had saved her life.

She offered him a small, hesitant smile.

Karl didn't smile back. He just stared at her for a long, uncomfortable moment, his jaw tight. Then, without a word, he turned on his heel and walked away down the dark hallway.

Nyla stood alone in the corridor, staring at the empty space where he'd disappeared.