THE VOID BEAST

CHAPTER 8: THE SHADOW

I pressed my back against the cold stone wall and curled into a ball.

My heart hammered so loud I was certain whatever was out there could hear it. The growl had faded, but the silence that followed was worse. At least with the growl, I knew where the danger was. Now? Now it could be anywhere.

I pulled the rabbit close, tucking her beneath my body, hiding her in the darkness. She was small enough to disappear in my shadow. Maybe whatever was out there wouldn't notice her. Maybe it would pass me by.

I held my breath.

Seconds stretched into minutes. The silence pressed against my ears like water. I didn't move. Didn't blink. Didn't dare make a sound.

Then—footsteps.

Heavy. Slow. Deliberate.

They moved between the shelves, each step echoing off the stone floor. Closer. Closer. Then stopped.

A massive shadow fell over me.

I squeezed my eyes shut, pressing myself tighter against the wall. Don't look. Don't move. Don't make eye contact.

I waited for claws. For teeth. For whatever was about to end me.

Then I felt it—a flicker of warmth at my chest. The rabbit. She'd pressed herself against me, her body trembling. But as the shadow loomed, her trembling stopped.

The shadow lingered for what felt like an eternity.

Then it withdrew.

It didn't walk away. It retreated—like it had touched something it hadn't expected. Like it had been burned.

The footsteps faded into silence.

I stayed frozen for another minute, waiting for the sound to come back. When it didn't, I finally let myself breathe.

"What was that?" I whispered.

I let the rabbit free. She hopped out from under me and sat beside me, her cloudy eyes fixed on the darkness where the footsteps had vanished.

"Did you see it?" I asked her. "Did you see what it was?"

She blinked. Her ears twitched. But she didn't move toward the darkness. She stayed close to me.

I pushed myself to my feet, my legs shaking. My heart was still racing, but the immediate danger had passed.

For now.

Then I heard voices at the door.

"—really sure you locked him in here?"

"Yes."

I recognized that voice. The girl who'd led me here.

"Why is he so quiet then?"

"I don't know. It couldn't have been that something happened to him."

"Or could he have escaped?"

I crept toward the door, keeping low. Through the small window, I could see two faces peering in. The girl. And Sebastian.

Of course. Of course it was Sebastian.

"Look," the girl said. "He's still there. He's just... sitting in the dark like some animal."

Sebastian laughed—that cruel, familiar laugh. "Enjoying your first night, rabbit-boy? Hope the library's comfortable."

"Please," I said, pressing my hands against the door. "Please let me out. I haven't eaten in two days. I just want to find food and sleep."

"Should we let him out?" the girl asked.

Sebastian shook his head. "No. Let him stay. The cold will teach him his place."

"But what if someone finds him?"

"Who's going to find him? No one comes to this part of the library at night." Sebastian pressed his face closer to the window. His grin was a white slash in the darkness. "You know what I like most about this? You're so desperate to prove you're not nothing. But every time you try, you just prove you are."

The words hit me like a physical blow.

He stepped back from the door. "Enjoy it, rabbit-boy. Consider it your first lesson at Aurelian Spire."

They walked away, their laughter echoing down the corridor.

I banged on the door. "Come back! Let me out!"

No response. Just fading footsteps.

I slammed my fist against the wood. "Come back!"

Silence.

I slumped against the door, my head dropping forward. My stomach growled—hollow and painful.

First night at Aurelian Spire, I thought bitterly. Locked in a library. Hungry. Alone. And Darian still missing.

Then I looked down.

The rabbit was gone.

"Hey—" I spun around, scanning the darkness. "Hey, rabbit?"

No response.

"Where did you go?"

I stepped away from the door, my eyes straining against the dim light. The shelves stretched into shadows, row after row of books that seemed to swallow the faint glow from the window.

Or could whatever made those sounds earlier have taken her?

The thought made my blood run cold.

"Rabbit?" I called out, keeping my voice low. "Come back. Please."

Silence.

I took a step deeper into the library. Then another. My footsteps were unhurried, careful. I didn't want to attract attention. I didn't want to find whatever had been lurking in the shadows before.

But I couldn't leave her. She'd brought me bread. She'd stayed with me in the dungeon. She'd pushed the food toward me when she was starving. She was the only thing in this world that had ever chosen me.

"Why did you have to leave?" I whispered to the thin air. "Why couldn't you just stay close?"

I walked row after row of shelves, scanning the darkness for any sign of her. The books loomed above me, their spines faded and cracked with age. The air was cold and still. Somewhere, water dripped.

My stomach growled again. I ignored it.

"Come on," I said, my voice barely audible. "Where are you?"

I turned a corner—

A book fell from above, smacking me on the head.

"Ow!" I winced, rubbing my skull. "What the—"

I looked down.

The rabbit was sitting on the floor beside me, looking up with her cloudy eyes. She'd knocked the book off the shelf.

"You did that on purpose," I said.

She blinked.

I reached down to pick up the book and placed it back on the shelf. But as I did, my eyes caught the title on the spine.

How to Train a Rabbit.

I laughed. It came out hollow.

"What is there to train in a rabbit?"

But even as I said it, I remembered the bread. The way she'd pushed it toward me when she was starving. The way she'd stayed with me in the dungeon when everyone else had left.

The way the shadow had retreated.

I looked at her—her patchy fur, her floppy ear, her thin ribs. The weakest beast in the history of Aurelian Spire. The one everyone laughed at.

Then I noticed something. Her cloudy eyes. They'd been cloudy since the moment she appeared. But as I stared at her now, the cloudiness seemed to shift. For just a moment—a fraction of a second—they cleared. A flash of silver.

Then they were cloudy again.

I blinked. Had I imagined it?

The water, I remembered. She swam toward me, glowing. Her eyes were silver then.

I looked at her cloudy eyes. Then I looked again. She was staring at me with those pale, milky orbs.

Could she see?

I reached out slowly, moving my hand toward her face. Her head followed my movement.

"Wait," I said. "You can see."

She blinked.

"You're not blind."

Her ears twitched.

She's pretending, I realized. She's been pretending this entire time.

The thought sent a chill down my spine. What else was she hiding?

"I'm not saying you're worthless," I said, quieter now. "I don't mean it that way. I just want to focus on bringing back Darian. Or at least finding the woman who knows about his mother."

She stared at me.

"Fine," I said. "I'll take it with me."

I tucked the book under my arm and started walking back toward the door.

---

Just then, the door creaked open.

"Is there anyone in there?" a voice called out.

I froze. Was it Sebastian again? The girl? Someone else who wanted to hurt me?

"Hello?" the voice came again. "I heard sounds. You in there?"

I made a decision. Friend or enemy, staying quiet wouldn't help me.

"Yes!" I called out, rushing toward the door. "Yes, I'm here!"

The man standing in the doorway was older—maybe in his fifties. He wore a simple uniform, like a guard or a groundskeeper. A lantern hung from his hand, casting warm light across his weathered face.

He looked me up and down. His eyes paused on the bruises on my face, the dirt on my clothes.

"Locked in, were you?" He raised an eyebrow. "That happens sometimes. Students playing tricks."

His eyes fell on the book in my hand. "Oh, you found something. How to Train a Rabbit." He nodded approvingly. "I like your courage—not giving up on your beast, even locked in a dark library. At least if you study, you might be able to keep it alive."

I nodded, not mentioning that my siblings had locked me in. That would only drag more attention to me, and attention was the last thing I needed right now.

"Who locked you in?" he asked.

"Just... some students," I said. "It doesn't matter."

He studied me for a moment. "It matters if it happens again."

"I'll be more careful next time."

He grunted, apparently satisfied. "Where's your dorm?"

"I don't know. I haven't settled in yet."

He blinked. "You haven't even dropped off your things? I'm surprised. Most new students rush to their dorms first."

"I was... looking for food," I said lamely.

He laughed—a warm, genuine sound. "Well, you've got spirit, I'll give you that. Your beast is D-ranked, yes?"

"Yes."

He started walking, gesturing for me to follow.

"Your beast is D-ranked, yes?" he repeated as we walked.

"You know about rabbits?" I asked.

He glanced back at me. "I've been here longer than you've been alive."

Then his eyes shifted to the rabbit in my arms. His gaze lingered—just a moment too long.

Not long enough to reveal anything. Just long enough for me to notice.

Why is he looking at her like that?

Before I could ask, he turned away.

"Out near the back wall," he said. "That's where the D-rank dormitory is."

I followed him, the rabbit warm in my arms, my mind spinning with questions.

Why did he look at her like that?