Chapter 9: 🌸Chapter 9, The way u looked at me.

Scene: Outside the Library — Corridor of Winded Flam

Drake and a few boys leaned against the archways near the entrance, whispering and chuckling.

“Kaelric! Hey, man,” Drake called, smirking. “You’ve been hard to catch lately. What, too busy chasing lost water girls in foggy forests?”

Kaelric stopped cold.

Drake elbowed the boy beside him. “Did you guys hear? Dunira and lover boy here were seen having a moonlit stroll in the jungles of Lunareth. Even Crestbore had to escort them back.”

The others laughed.

“If you wanted romance, Kaelric, our school library’s always empty — why go all the way to a cursed forest?”

“Shut up,” Kaelric muttered. “None of that happened.”

He tried to walk away.

But Drake kept talking.

> “I know girls like her,” he said with a smirk.

“She’ll cling to you just long enough… until someone shinier walks in. You’ll be left hollow, wondering what the hell you meant to her. Don’t waste your time.”

THUD.

Kaelric shoved Drake back — hard — slamming him against the stone wall.

Kaelric’s hazel-blue eyes flared, golden-orange veins of fire flickering beneath the surface.

Drake responded instantly — the air around him twisted and pushed, separating them with a gust.

“Whoa, Kael,” Drake sneered, grinning. “You trying to fight me?”

The candles lining the corridor flickered wildly — then surged, drawn toward Kaelric’s palms.

He raised his hands — a swirling fire burst into existence, glowing bright in the air.

“Why not?” Kaelric growled.

Drake summoned a small vortex, his element responding with a gust of wild air.

The crowd started cheering — energy charged the hallway.

Just as their powers were about to clash —

“Enough!”

A firm voice echoed.

The flames vanished. The wind fell still.

Principal Owen stood tall at the corridor’s entrance, her robe flowing like shadowed silk.

She looked between them, unimpressed.

“Kaelric. Drake. Office. Now.”

The corridor fell silent.

Meanwhile at Veilpond

Mist swirled gently above the still, glowing waters of the Veilpond.

Dunira sat on its mossy edge, legs pulled close, her arms wrapped tightly around her knees. The pond reflected her face — but faint, blurred — as if even her reflection couldn’t fully find her.

She stared down, whispering:

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

“Why can’t I see anything anymore? What’s happening to me?”

Her fingers skimmed the water’s surface. Ripples broke her reflection.

“What was she trying to tell me? And who was she even talking about?”

Her voice cracked, frustration brimming beneath her calm tone.

A silence settled.

And then —

Hey..

A voice.

Soft. Echoing. From behind her.

Dunira turned—and found Kaelric standing just behind her.

His uniform was torn slightly from the fight earlier.

“You got caught in one of Theravine’s ancient trees?” she asked, eyebrow raised. “They don’t really like outsiders touching them.”

Kaelric smiled and dropped down beside her.

“You’re unbelievable,” she muttered, gaze softening as she looked down at the moss-covered ground. The sadness on her face was clear.

Kaelric glanced at her quietly. “You're in uniform... but you didn’t show up at school today.”

She nodded slowly, then hesitated. “I... I need to tell you something.”

But as she looked up and saw his face clearly, her breath caught.

“Wait—you're hurt!”

She reached up and gently touched his lower lip, where a small cut had formed.

Kaelric froze, his breath stilling. As Dunira realized how close she had gotten, she tried to pull her hand away—

—but he caught it.

Their eyes locked.

He slowly brought her hand to his cheek, resting it there, tilting his head into her palm.

“Now it stops hurting,” he whispered.

Dunira’s heart pounded. Her eyes softened, caught in the closeness, lost in the moment. She forgot what she was even trying to say.

Then he leaned closer. His voice dropped to a husky whisper—

“These are the eyes I was talking about. The ones I wanted to look at me... like this.”

“May the Ancients forgive me,” came a voice—

Sansa stood nearby, completely stunned.

Dunira blinked, startled, and looked away. “I was just checking the cut.”

Kaelric chuckled softly, blushing as he looked away too.

Sansa dramatically covered her eyes. “Auralis, my eyesss.”

“Stop it. It’s nothing like that!” Dunira said quickly.

Kaelric, hiding his grin, nodded. “Exactly. Just like she said.”

Sansa gave them both a knowing look, then smiled. “Alright. I’ll keep it a secret... for now.”

She walked closer, arms folded. “But where were you, Dunira? You’re in uniform, but didn’t come to school. I was worried. Also—did you hear your boyfriend got in a fight?”

Dunira blinked. “Wh—my what?!”

Kaelric let out a soft, content sigh.

“And now everyone thinks you two ran off to Lunareth’s jungles together,” Sansa added.

“Hey—heeyy! Can I talk for a second?” Dunira cut in.

Dunira saw kaelric hiding his laugh

Sansa grinned. “Okay, go ahead. Defend yourself.”

“Sansa, sweetheart,” Dunira said, voice laced with sarcasm, “I’ll explain later. But right now, there’s something more important.”

“Myna saw them.”

“Saw what?” Sansa asked, confused.

“The red-eyed men. From the dream,” Dunira replied. “She saw them last night. In Lunareth’s forest.”

Kaelric listening carefully

“What?” Sansa’s voice dropped.

“She’s home now. I found her this morning, on my way to the academy,” said Dunira. “That’s why I didn’t show up.”

Dunira added, “And Vima... the oldest miniature in Theravine. She saw something too—psychically. She looked haunted. I think she knows something important... maybe the truth.”

“And who’s behind all of this?” Kaelric asked.

“Yes,” Dunira said, nodding. “That’s the real question.”

“Whoa,” Sansa whispered. “That’s... the longest conversation you two have ever had.”

Then she looked between them. “But whatever this is, it sounds serious. Like, really serious.”

Dunira groaned. “I can’t even deal with it right now.”

Oh sis thunder “I’ll explain,” Kaelric said.

The three of them started walking along the mossy paths of Theravine, Dunira in the middle.

“Ugh. Now I got it, Just thinking about those red-eyed things gives me the creeps,” Sansa shivered.

Dunira’s voice turned thoughtful. “We need to talk to Vima. Somehow get her to tell us what she saw. Right now, we don’t have any other leads.”

Kaelric looked at her. “By the way... Vespara asked me about you today. I confronted her. About the pendant.”

Dunira stopped. “Wait...”

Kaelric nodded. “Yeah. I was right. It was hers. When I showed it to her, she looked shaken.”

He asked to Sansa. “Also—Sansa, your father have good relations to durakars ryt !! do u have amethyst ? It can help us track something with it psychically?”

There was silence.

They both turned.

Sansa wasn’t beside them anymore.

“...Sansa?” Dunira called out.

Panic spread between them as they began searching in all directions.

And then—

A scream tore through the forest.

Dunira turned toward the sound—just in time to see a shadowy thread shoot out from between the trees.

It had wrapped around Sansa’s ankle, dragging her through the bushes—straight toward Vielpond.

“Sansa!!” Dunira and Kaelric bolted after her.

They reached the edge just as she was being pulled into Vielpond. Dunira lunged and caught her hand, struggling to hold on. Kaelric grabbed Dunira’s waist, pulling back with all his strength.

But the force was stronger—

It dragged all three of them into Vielpond.

Light cracked around them.

They were still holding on to each other, still fighting—until the light vanished.

Mist returned.

And when the fog cleared—

They were back.

In Lunareth’s Mistbank forest. Near the green lake.

The shadow finally released Sansa’s foot. She crawled toward Dunira, who pulled her into a hug.

Kaelric looked up—his eyes widened.

“Dunira...” he whispered.

She followed his gaze.

And saw them.

Not one.

Four of them.

Standing just beyond the veil of mist — still, almost statuesque —

They were tall.

Their limbs were long and unnaturally thin, stretching beneath robes of black that clung to them like wet smoke. The fabric shimmered faintly with some strange oily sheen, rippling even though the air was still.

Their faces were half-hidden beneath shadowed hoods, but the eyes...

Those eyes.

Burning red. Not glowing — burning.

Like embers pressed deep into coal-black sockets. No pupils, no movement. Just that searing, lifeless red.

Watching.

Their mouths were curved into subtle, uncanny smiles — the kind that sent a chill crawling across the spine.

They looked almost human — but the longer you stared, the more your mind rebelled.

None of them moved.

They just stood there.

Until —

They raised their hands in eerie unison.

From their sleeves, black tendrils unfurled — like smoke made solid.

They slithered across the moss and roots, weaving through the trees like hungry veins. The ground darkened beneath them wherever they passed, as if the light itself recoiled.

“The tendrils reached for 3 of them — silent, patient… and escape was no longer an option.”

Will be continued 🩸🩸🩸