Entry One: The Return of Quiet
The academy was too quiet.
Not the peaceful quiet of safety, but the brittle, watchful silence that follows a scream.
Two days had passed since the breach, but the scent of scorched stone still lingered in the air. Students moved in small groups, whispering. Every shadow felt like it held teeth.
Kael and I trained harder than ever—Professor Valen had doubled the drills for everyone. But I could tell his attention was elsewhere, his eyes darting to the walls more than to the sparring rings.
And every time I crossed the courtyard, I felt Jaren's gaze on me.
Entry Two: The Glimpse
It happened at dusk. I was walking back from the library, arms full of dusty spellbooks, when I saw him—Jaren—near the eastern wall.
He wasn't supposed to be there; patrols had been restricted to the Guard Corps. But there he stood, fingers tracing the stone, eyes scanning the tree line like he was searching for something.
Before I could call out, he stepped into the shadow of the old watchtower and vanished from sight.
I told myself it was nothing. That he had a reason to be there. But the memory of my sister's letter wouldn't leave me:
It will use the hands you know, the voice you trust.
Entry Three: The Sister's New Letter
That night, I found a folded scrap on my bed. Not in an envelope. Not sealed. Just a single piece of parchment with my name in hurried ink.
The handwriting was my sister's.
Elara, the Hollow is patient. It will not break the gates twice in the same way. This time, it will open them from within until you do not see the difference between enemy and friend. Protect the boy with fire in his veins. Do not trust the one who watches.
The last line was underlined twice.
I knew who she meant.
But part of me still didn't want to believe it.
Entry Four: Testing the Theory
The next day, I decided to see what Jaren would do if I cornered him—not with accusations, but with opportunity.
Kael didn't like it. "You're playing with something dangerous," he said, his fire flickering hotter than usual.
"I need to know," I told him. "If he's working with them, he'll take the bait."
The "bait" was simple: I told Jaren, in passing, that Professor Valen had discovered a weak point in the southern wall, and that repairs would happen tomorrow at dawn.
It was a lie. But if the Bone Creatures attacked that spot, I'd have my answer.
Entry Five: A Dangerous Conversation
That night, Jaren found me alone in the old library annex.
"You've been spending a lot of time with Kael," he said, leaning casually against a bookshelf, but his eyes were sharp.
"We train together," I replied.
"That all?"
His voice was light, but I could hear the strain beneath it. I didn't answer, and he stepped closer.
"You know I'd protect you if anything happened," he said. "No matter what you've done. Or… who you've done it with."
My stomach turned cold. He knew. Or he guessed.
I forced my voice to stay steady. "And if it came down to choosing between me and the academy?"
He smiled faintly. "That's a choice I'll never have to make."
But in his eyes, I saw it—the shadow of a lie.
Entry Six: The False Dawn
At dawn, Kael and I were already in the southern courtyard, waiting.
For the first hour, nothing happened. The guards patrolled as usual, the air still. I began to think I'd been wrong—that Jaren was guilty only of arrogance and poor timing.
Then the mist began to roll in.
It came too fast to be natural, pouring through the southern trees in a low, choking blanket. Shapes moved within it—tall, thin, bone-white.
The Bone Creatures had found the "weak point."
Kael's fire lit the mist in flashes. "We're surrounded."
Entry Seven: Fire and Shadow
We fought back to back, my shadows weaving shields and snares while Kael's fire tore the creatures apart.
But the mist was their ally. It muffled sound, blurred sight. Twice I felt claws brush past me before I could strike.
One creature slipped past entirely, moving toward the inner gates. I tried to chase, but another intercepted me, its skeletal jaw opening wider than humanly possible.
Kael blasted it away, the heat scorching my cheek. "Stay with me!"
We pushed toward the gate, but by the time we reached it, the lock was already broken.
Entry Eight: The Betrayer's Trace
The Bone Creatures didn't break the gate—they opened it.
The mechanism had been turned from the inside. And on the stone floor beside it, half-hidden in the mist, was a scrap of fabric torn from a sleeve.
I didn't need to hold it up to the light to know the color.
Jaren's patrol jacket was dark blue, trimmed with silver.
Kael's eyes met mine, fierce and certain. "It's him."
I clenched the fabric in my fist. "We don't tell anyone. Not yet. If he knows we're onto him, we'll never find out who he's working with."
Entry Nine: Aftermath in Silence
By the time the mist cleared, the Bone Creatures were gone, retreating into the forest like shadows at sunrise.
The damage was worse this time—three breaches, multiple injuries, and a fear so deep you could feel it in the walls.
Jaren appeared at breakfast, his hair damp, his expression unreadable. He caught my gaze and gave the faintest nod, as if we shared some private joke.
I smiled back.
I had to.
Because if I showed my hand too soon, the next time he opened the gates, it might be for me.