Chapter 4 An Unspoken Thread

Eira's spoon clinked softly against her tray as she stared at the space Killian had just left behind.

Mira's calm declaration still lingered in the air.

"No, I don't, but I find him interesting."

Talia leaned in. "Okay, weird question, but... are you two like, secret friends or something or do you know him somewhere?"

Mira gave a short laugh, the sound light but guarded. "We're not anything. I just notice people."

Talia narrowed her eyes. "And you just happened to notice the hottest guy in Ashmoor?"

Mira didn't reply. She simply sipped her juice and looked out at the room like she hadn't just dropped into their lives out of nowhere.

Eira leaned her elbows on the table. "Why now?"

Mira tilted her head. "What do you mean?"

"You've been in our room for a week. No greetings. No eye contact. You only ever spoke to your cat.. " Talia said again.

"Rumi prefers privacy," Mira cut in, a smirk ghosting across her lips.

"and now you're suddenly eating lunch with us?"

There was a pause. Then Mira met Eira's gaze head-on. "I guess I was waiting to see who you really were."

Eira blinked. "Why?"

Before Mira could respond, a loud bell chimed across the cafeteria.

Second period.

Students began packing up. Chairs scraped the floor. The background noise returned in a wave.

Mira stood and picked up her tray. "You ask a lot of questions, Eira."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"Not at all," Mira said. "But not everyone here wants to be known."

Then she walked away, her braids swaying behind her, calm and unbothered as if nothing she said carried weight. But it did. Every word.

Talia let out a long breath. "Okay. First Killian, now Mira. Who's next? Our cafeteria tray talking?"

Eira didn't laugh.

She couldn't shake the sense that something invisible had shifted.

Later that evening, back in their dorm room, the tension had thinned but not vanished.

Talia was sprawled on her bed, flipping through a spell theory textbook, occasionally muttering about how boring runic sequences were. Eira sat at her desk, sketching in the corner of a notebook, lines that looked like eyes, feathers, and flames without her realizing it.

Mira sat cross-legged on her own bed, headphones on, petting Rumi. She hadn't said another word since lunch.

Eira's pencil paused mid-sketch. She glanced at the clock. 8:12 PM.

The air felt strange again. That stillness. That quiet right before something happens.

And then her phone buzzed.

Unknown Number: You shouldn't trust everyone who looks familiar.

She frowned. "Talia?"

"Yeah?"

"You give anyone my number?"

"Nope. Why?"

Eira stared at the message.

Another buzz.

Unknown Number: Some things in Ashmoor aren't what they seem. And neither are some people.

She swallowed. "Okay... now this is getting creepy."

Mira looked up from her bed. She hadn't been looking at her phone, but somehow.. she already knew something was off.

"Everything alright?" Mira asked quietly.

Eira nodded slowly. "Yeah... just a weird message."

Mira's gaze held hers for a moment too long before she returned to her cat.

That night, as Eira lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, her thoughts wouldn't quiet.

Killian Blake. Mira. The warning text. Miklan's anger. And Ashmoor's perfect halls that suddenly felt like a maze of secrets.

The morning came as quickly as ever.

Eira adjusted the strap of her bag and stifled a yawn as she walked beside Talia.

"I barely slept," she muttered.

"Let me guess," Talia said, raising a brow. "Mira's mystery aura haunted your dreams?"

"No," Eira replied too quickly. "Just... stuff."

They turned a corner, the hallway gradually filling up with the noise of students, lockers clanging, and footsteps echoing off marble floors.

That's when they saw him.

Miklan.

He had a younger student pinned to a locker, whispering something low and threatening. The kid's books were scattered on the floor, and no one dared to help. Most walked faster, pretending not to see.

Eira slowed down, staring. She clenched her fists.

Talia touched her arm, but not to stop her.

"Look at him," Talia whispered. "So full of himself."

Then Miklan's eyes flicked up and locked onto Eira's.

He didn't look away.

Instead, he smirked.

Like this was a game.

Beside him stood another boy taller, with long dark hair tied back loosely, and sharp cheekbones. His eyes weren't just cold. They were wrong. The way he looked at Eira made her stomach twist, like he could see something beneath her skin.

Eira quickly looked away.

Talia didn't say a word this time. She just grabbed her hand and pulled her down the hallway.

"Creep," Talia muttered under her breath.

By the time they entered their Spellcraft and Energy channeling class, most of the seats were already taken.

And then, there they were.

Mira and Killian.

Sitting together at a shared desk near the middle.

Eira froze for half a second, then shook her head and kept walking.

Mira noticed them. She leaned back in her seat and offered a smile.

A weird one. Small. Sharp. Slightly amused.

Talia nudged Eira. "Don't look. Just ignore her."

"I'm not bothered."

She wasn't sure if it was true.

Eira moved towards an empty seat near the back, but just as she was about to sit down, a girl with red curls bumped her shoulder hard.

"This is taken," the girl sneered.

Another girl next to her scoffed. "Yeah, find somewhere else. We don't sit with attention-thieves."

"What?" Eira blinked.

But before she could argue, the girls exchanged a look and laughed.

She felt the heat creep up her neck.

Talia stepped in, ready to say something, but Eira quickly walked away, pretending it didn't sting.

There weren't many seats left.

Except one.

Next to Killian.

He didn't say a word. He didn't even look at her. Just sat there, eyes forward, as if he didn't notice her standing beside him.

Eira sat down quietly.

Talia huffed and slipped into the seat next to Mira.

Mira's head tilted slightly, and she whispered something to Talia. Whatever it was made Talia raise an eyebrow and scoff softly.

Eira tried not to care.

Tried not to feel the weight of eyes on her.

But it was there. The way everyone watched. The silence. The tension.

Killian suddenly leaned back in his seat and, without looking at her, said just loud enough to hear.

"You get used to it."

Eira blinked. "What?"

He didn't repeat himself.

He didn't need to.

Because somehow, she already understood.

He was talking about the glares from other girls.

Professor Alen strode into the room without a greeting, robes trailing behind him. He didn't bother taking attendance. Everyone sat up a little straighter, afraid of his sharp tongue more than any spell.

He glanced at the room, his expression unreadable.

"We're starting a long-term project," he announced. "Something that will require cooperation, observation, and proper research. Groups of three."

A quiet groan rippled through the class.

Eira's stomach twisted. She hated group work. It always ended the same, her doing the heavy lifting while the others took the credit.