### Chapter 2: Veiled Arrival
The moss beneath Kael's sneakers pulsed like a slow heartbeat—warm, alive, and utterly alien. Rain still clung to his hoodie, but the droplets evaporated the moment they touched Elyrian soil, leaving faint wisps of steam. Lira tugged him along the glowing path with the casual confidence of someone who'd never once questioned her place in the world.
"Keep up, shadow-boy," she called over her shoulder, curls bouncing. "Orientation waits for no one, and the registrar's a dragon in heels."
Kael's legs moved on autopilot. Every step felt borrowed—like he was trespassing inside his own skin. The tattoo on his wrist throbbed in rhythm with the ground, shadows licking at the edges of his vision, no longer whispers but *hungry*. He clenched his fist, forcing them down. *Not here. Not now.*
The spires grew taller, their runes shifting like living script. Students streamed past: a girl with dragonfly wings folding into her back, a boy juggling orbs of liquid starlight, two identical twins whose laughter echoed in perfect, eerie sync. None spared Kael more than a glance—until a cluster of upperclassmen in crimson-trimmed robes parted, and *he* stepped through.
Riven Thorne.
The vampire from the prologue stood a head taller than the rest, moonlight catching on the sharp angles of his face. His uniform—black with silver threading—hugged a frame built for precision rather than bulk. Crimson eyes swept the courtyard, snagged on Kael, and narrowed. Recognition flared, hot and immediate.
Kael's pulse stuttered. The shadows surged without permission, curling toward Riven like iron filings to a magnet. Riven's nostrils flared; a muscle ticked in his jaw. For a heartbeat, the air between them crackled—visible threads of darkness and blood-red light twisting together before snapping apart.
Lira whistled low. "Well, *damn*. You just eye-fucked the prince in front of half the freshman class. Bold move."
"Prince?" Kael croaked.
"House Thorne. Oldest vampire lineage in Elyria. Also," she added cheerfully, "head of the Disciplinary Council. Try not to piss him off *more* than you already have."
Riven was already moving, cutting through the crowd with predatory grace. Students melted aside. He stopped an arm's length away, close enough that Kael caught the scent of frost and copper.
"You shouldn't be here," Riven said, voice low enough to vibrate in Kael's ribs. "Your aura reeks of rupture. The veil doesn't tear for just anyone."
Kael swallowed. "I didn't *ask* to be hit by a truck."
A flicker—surprise? amusement?—crossed Riven's face. "A truck." He tasted the word like it was foreign. "Explain."
"Later," Lira interrupted, stepping between them. "Registrar first, existential crises second. Move it, Your Highness."
Riven's gaze lingered on Kael a beat longer, then flicked to Lira. "Ember. Keep him contained. If he destabilizes the campus wards—"
"Yeah, yeah, I'll babysit the apocalypse. Go brood somewhere else."
To Kael's shock, Riven *obeyed*, melting back into the crowd. But the weight of his stare remained, a brand between Kael's shoulder blades.
---
The registrar's office was a cavernous hall of floating parchment and crystal orbs. A woman with serpentine eyes and a clipboard made of living wood scanned Kael's tattoo, frowned, then stamped a rune onto a slate that spat out his class schedule in glowing script.
**KAEL VOSS**
**Dorm: Emberwing Hall, Room 313**
**Core Classes: Veil Theory, Shadow Manipulation I, Blood Alchemy (Audit), Lunar Combat**
**Note: Probationary enrollment. Guardian oversight required.**
"Guardian?" Kael asked.
Lira grimaced. "Guess who drew the short straw."
---
Emberwing Hall smelled of cinnamon and old books. Their room was a lofted chaos: one half explosion of potion vials and half-burnt candles (Lira's), the other half stark and empty (his). A window overlooked the eclipse moon, its shadow creeping across the glass like a slow tide.
Kael dropped his backpack—still Earth-damp—and sank onto the bare mattress. The shadows pooled around him, thicker now, *curious*. He could almost hear them breathing.
Lira flopped beside him, legs swinging. "Spill. What's a veil-tear doing in my dorm?"
"I died," he said flatly. The words tasted like rust. "Car accident. Woke up here. That's the short version."
She studied him, expression softening. "Short version's enough for now. Long version gets whiskey." She nudged his shoulder. "You're not the first isekai we've had, but you're the first whose magic *answered* Riven Thorne. That's... new."
"Great. I'm a bug in the system."
"More like a glitch with teeth." She stood, tossing him a robe the color of midnight. "Shower's down the hall. Uniform's enchanted—try not to set it on fire. First assembly's in an hour. After that, we hunt answers."
---
The shower stall was a glass pod that misted with scented steam and *sang* in minor keys. Kael stripped, scars from the accident already fading into silver lines. The water felt like liquid starlight, washing away blood that wasn't there anymore. When he closed his eyes, he saw the SUV's headlights. Felt the crunch. Heard the voice: *Your bond awakens.*
He punched the tile. Shadows cracked the glass in a spiderweb fracture before retreating, ashamed.
---
Assembly was held in the Grand Atrium—an open-air coliseum beneath the twin moons. Thousands of students filled the tiers. Kael stuck close to Lira, hyper-aware of eyes tracking him. Whispers followed: *otherworlder... eclipse mark... Thorne's stare...*
The headmistress—a towering woman with antlers of obsidian—spoke of balance, of the thinning veil, of *anomalies* that threatened Elyria's stability. Her gaze lingered on Kael when she said the last part.
Then Riven took the stage as student envoy. His voice carried without effort:
"Arcane University is sanctuary and crucible. Break the wards, and you answer to me."
His eyes found Kael's across the sea of faces. The message was clear: *You're on my list.*
Lira leaned in. "Told you. Brooding's his love language."
---
After assembly, Lira dragged him to the library—a labyrinth of floating shelves and whispering tomes. She pulled a restricted grimoire titled **Veil Ruptures & Eclipse Souls**.
Page 47: *"When a soul crosses unbidden during lunar alignment, it carries a fragment of its origin realm. Such souls bind instinctively to native anchors—often of opposing essence. Shadow to blood. Light to void. The bond stabilizes the tear... or widens it."*
Kael's stomach dropped. "Anchor. That's..."
"Riven," Lira finished. "Congratulations. You're cosmically handcuffed to the vampire prince."
Before he could process, the grimoire snapped shut on its own. Ink bled across the page, forming words in real time:
**THE CULT OF THE FRACTURED ECLIPSE WATCHES.
YOUR DEATH WAS THE FIRST CUT.**
The lights flickered. Somewhere deep in the stacks, a book screamed.
Lira grabbed his wrist—right over the tattoo. "We need to move. *Now.*"
As they fled, shadows peeled from the walls, forming a silhouette with no face. It raised a hand in mocking salute before dissolving into mist.
Kael's heart thundered. The game had rules now. And he was already losing.
**To be continued...**
Written by goddesslove950