Silent Melody

Chapter 8: Shadows Beneath the Hollow

Word of a new transferee spread like wildfire. Not just any student this one arrived under a storm, literally. Dark clouds gathered as the carriage passed through the academy gates, lightning flickering across the sky as if warning us of what was coming.

He was named Nero.

Pale as the moon. Hair as black as midnight. Eyes darker than obsidian void of light. Everything about him screamed danger. But oddly enough, it wasn’t just fear he stirred. There was something magnetic in the way he walked, something... hauntingly familiar. He didn't speak to anyone. Didn't even glance their way. But the moment his eyes landed on me it was like he’d already known me for years.

That same day, he transferred into the class next to mine. He never talked, never smiled. But every time I turned around, I’d catch him watching me from afar. From the library’s top balcony, from the shadow of the training halls, from the far corner of the cafeteria. Always silent. Always there. Like a ghost that only I could see.

“Tahimik niya pero ang intense ng aura,” Ammara whispered, pulling on my sleeve. “Have you noticed na lagi siyang nasa paligid mo?”

I nodded subtly. I didn’t want to admit it, but I did notice. Every single time.

But what was stranger… was how Vince reacted.

———

Ever since I became his Veyla, my dorm was moved beside his. A rule, they said. Veylas lived within reach of their Royals. All, except Tasha, who refused to follow tradition. “I like my space,” she had said.

But Vince… never imposed. He never asked anything of me. But he always noticedwhen I skipped meals, when I couldn't sleep, even when I was pretending to be okay.

Like earlier this week.

I had a cut on my wrist from training. I didn’t complain. I didn't even wince. But when I got back to my dorm, there was a small bottle of healing salve already waiting by my bed, the faintest scent of obsidian smoke lingering in the air.

He didn’t say anything. Never did.

But the next morning, I caught him standing at my door just before dawn, as if making sure I was still breathing.

There were rumors. Faint whispers. Students who had bruises with no memory of how they got them. Classmates who tried to flirt only to find their Sona mysteriously weakened the next day. Vince never admitted anything. But the timing was always… precise.

And Nero… seemed to feel it too.

Despite his constant silent stalking, he never once approached. Not directly. Just watched. Like a predator waiting. But every time Vince was near, Nero faded back into the shadows, as if sensing something even more dangerous.

Because while Nero was cold…

Vince was terrifying.

———

Then came the mission.

A high-level dispatch. Vince and I, with our assigned Veylas, were sent to a remote territory known only as Aureliath Hollow.

No one wanted to speak of it. But rumors said every child who entered the region either disappeared or was found lifeless—eyes wide open, mouths frozen mid-scream.

We were chosen to investigate.

The Hollow greeted us with silence. No birds. No wind. Just the echo of our footsteps on decaying leaves. Mist rolled across the ground like ghosts slithering between trees. My heart pounded, but I kept my expression blank.

Beside me, Vince walked calmly. Unbothered. But I saw the way his hand hovered near his blade. Protective.

“I’ll take point,” he said to the others.

His eyes flicked briefly to mine. “Stay behind me.”

The place was like a forgotten grave. Faint laughter echoed from invisible mouths. Sometimes, I swore I saw children in the mist, only for them to vanish when I blinked. My Sona pulsed within my chest, humming softly as if trying to warn me.

Nero appeared that night.

Not part of the mission.

Not invited.

But there.

He emerged from the fog while we camped. His eyes locked on mine. No words.

Vince stood immediately, stepping in front of me with a quiet threat in his aura. The forest around us trembled. Even the shadows retreated.

Nero didn’t flinch. He just smiled faintly cold, amused.

Then vanished.

———

We didn’t sleep that night.

The Hollow whispered secrets in our ears. Spoke of truths we weren’t ready to hear. But through it all Vince stayed near. Not too close. Not intrusive. But just enough.

And for the first time since I entered this academy...

I wasn’t afraid of the dark.