Bound to nothingness

Chapter 3:"The dread sovereign. "

By her second night at Veylcrest, Nyla had decided the castle was simply badly designed.

Doors swung open before anyone reached for the handles. Portraits on the landing muttered under their breath when people walked past. The staircases shifted when no one was looking, and twice Nyla had followed a straight corridor only to discover it stopped at a blank stone wall.

"This place is completely ridiculous," Emily muttered, stopping in the middle of a hallway that was twice as long as it had been twenty minutes ago.

Nyla looked back over her shoulder. The broad stone staircase they had just climbed was gone, replaced by a solid span of masonry.

"I think we're lost," Nyla said.

Emily stared at her. "You think?"

Before Nyla could answer, running footsteps echoed from the far end of the hall. A group of older students rounded the corner...not walking, but moving at a full sprint. One of them nearly shoved right past Nyla, dodging out of the way at the last second.

"Move!" he barked, his face pale.

Nyla stepped back, bumping into the wall. "What's going on?"

The boy didn't answer. None of them did. They kept going down the passage, ducking into side alcoves and disappearing through doors until the corridor was empty.

A moment later, a dull, heavy vibration ran through the flagstones—a single chime from somewhere far below .

Emily’s face lost its color. She grabbed Nyla by the sleeve. "Nyla. Let's go."

"Why?"

"I don't know, but I'm not standing here to find out!"

They turned to head back toward the nearest side door, but the double doors at the far end of the passage swung open with a dry, heavy creak.

At first, there was only the sound of boots on stone. Then a tall figure stepped out into the torchlight, dressed in a high-collared dark coat with silver clasps along the front.

The lanterns hanging along the passage flickered and dimmed as he walked under them, casting long, sharp shadows against the stone. Around them, the few students left in the alcoves kept their eyes glued to the floorboards.

Emily gripped Nyla’s arm, her fingers digging in. "Don't look at him," she whispered. "Look down."

Nyla tried, but as the boy drew closer, she raised her head anyway.

His eyes were already on her.

Karl Draven slowed to a stop five paces away. He was tall, with sharp features and a quiet, flat expression that revealed nothing at all. He looked over Nyla's face slowly, examining her with a calm, calculating focus not with surprise, but with simple recognition.

He took a step forward. The remaining students pressed themselves back against the wall to give him room. Nyla realized a second too late that she was standing directly in his line of travel. Emily yanked hard on her sleeve, pulling her back just in time.

Karl stopped right in front of them, his gaze fixed on Nyla.

"You're the new one," he said. His voice was low and quiet.

Nyla swallowed, keeping her chin up. "Yes."

"Your name."

"Nyla Vale."

Something subtle shifted in his eyes,a tiny flick of movement, gone almost before Nyla noticed it.

His eyes dropped briefly to her bare hands before rising back to her face. "You're not afraid."

Nyla squeezed Emily’s fingers. "I am."

The corner of his mouth twitched up, just a fraction. "Good."

Karl stepped closer, taking up the space between them. Nyla instinctively took a half-step back until her shoulders met the stone wall.

Then, the air in the hall turned cold.

A thick, ink-dark shadow pooled out from beneath the hem of his coat, spreading across the floor flagstones like spilt liquid. A girl down the hall let out a small, smothered gasp. Nyla stood still, her boots planted on the stone as the dark edge slid toward her toes.

The second the shadow touched the leather of her boot, it snapped back violently, retreating three feet across the floor as if it had struck hot iron.

The silence in the hallway was total.

Karl’s calm expression cracked. For a fraction of a second, pure shock showed on his face. He looked down at the empty stone where his shadow had pulled back, then slowly raised his eyes back to hers.

Nyla stared at her own boots, completely unable to explain it.

Karl reached out a hand toward her face. Nyla flinched, leaning back against the masonry, but his fingers stopped an inch short of her cheek. He stared at her like he was trying to read small print in the dark.

Slowly, he lowered his hand back to his side. "Interesting."

He turned on his heel, and the heavy cold in the hall instantly lifted.

He walked a few paces down the passage before slowing down. Without turning around, he spoke over his shoulder. "Don't wander after dark."

Nyla found her voice. "Why?"

He glanced back, his profile catching the dim torchlight. "Because Veylcrest isn't the most dangerous thing inside these walls."

He kept walking. The heavy doors at the end of the hall swung open for him on their own, and he disappeared down the dark staircase beyond.

Only after his footsteps died away did the hallway fill with hushed, hurried talking.

Emily turned to Nyla, her skin pale. "Do you have any idea who that was?"

Nyla shook her head, her pulse still hammering in her throat. "No. Who is he?"

Emily leaned close, her voice barely audible. "That's Karl Draven."

The name didn't trigger anything for Nyla, but the look on her friend's face made her stomach drop. "Okay... and who is Karl Draven?"

"He's the heir," Emily whispered, glancing back toward the doors. "His family rules the Dark Realm. They call him the Dread Sovereign."

Nyla turned back to look at the dark archway Karl had walked through, a cold weight settling in her chest.