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đ A Sky Full of Secrets
Chapter 1: The Boy in the Tower
The train screeched as it climbed its way into the fog-shrouded mountains. Adrian Vale pressed his forehead against the cold window, watching the world disappear behind clouds and trees. Everything was grayâthe sky, the mist, even the ache in his chest.
Silvercrest Academy was supposed to be the best school in the country. But to Adrian, it was an escape. An escape from memories he couldn't face, from a family too broken to pretend anymore.
He clutched the letter in his coat pocket. Elegant ink. Cold words.
> "We look forward to welcoming you to Silvercrest Academy. Follow the path to the gates. Do not stray."
The moment the train stopped, he was the only one to step off. No one else. No teachers. No students. Just fog, pine trees, and an old gravel path.
"CreepyâŠ" he muttered, dragging his suitcase behind him.
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Silvercrest didn't look like a school. It looked like a castle out of a gothic novelâstone towers, ivy-covered walls, and black iron gates that creaked open without a sound. The silence was heavy. Almost like the place was holding its breath.
As Adrian stepped through the gates, he felt it.
Someone was watching him.
He turned.
Nothing.
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The inside was just as strange. Hallways twisted in odd directions. Paintings stared back with hollow eyes. Students whispered about him as he passed.
> "That's the new boy."
"He doesn't know, does he?"
"Poor thing. He'll find out soon enough."
"Find out what?" Adrian asked aloud, but no one answered.
That night, Adrian couldn't sleep.
He left his room and wandered, drawn by soft piano music echoing through the halls. He followed it up a spiral staircase, past a locked library, to the top of the North Towerâthe place they told students never to go.
There, sitting in the moonlight, was a boy.
His hair shimmered silver-blue like the sky before dawn. His back was turned. He played the piano as if the stars themselves were listening.
"You're not supposed to be here," the boy said without turning.
"I could say the same," Adrian replied, stepping closer. "Who are you?"
The boy stopped playing. Silence filled the air.
Then, finally, he turned.
And Adrian forgot how to breathe.
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To be continued...