Rohgah stood in the courtyard long after Sofia disappeared.
The students around him were laughing, talking, and rushing toward their next classes, but he heard none of it.
His mind was trapped on one sentence.
The truth will destroy you.
What truth could possibly destroy him?
He had spent his entire life surrounded by secrets.
His father had never been the kind of man who explained anything. Machir Perez gave instructions, not answers. He had raised Rohgah to understand one thing above everything else.
Power was survival.
Weakness was death.
And questions were dangerous.
Rohgah had obeyed him for years.
Until now.
He looked toward the corridor where Sofia had disappeared.
"Who are you?"
A voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Rohgah."
He turned.
It was his closest friend at school, Damian.
Damian approached carefully.
"You've been standing here for ten minutes."
"So?"
"So everyone is staring."
Rohgah glanced around.
He hadn't noticed.
"Let them stare."
Damian lowered his voice.
"Is this about Sofia?"
Rohgah's expression immediately changed.
"Why does everyone keep asking me about her?"
"Because you keep following her."
Rohgah said nothing.
Damian sighed.
"Whatever is going on, be careful."
Rohgah looked at him.
"Why?"
"Because Sofia isn't what she seems."
Rohgah's eyes narrowed.
"What does that mean?"
Damian hesitated.
"I don't know."
"Then don't speak."
Rohgah walked away.
Damian watched him go.
He had known Rohgah long enough to recognize that expression.
Rohgah had become curious.
And when Rohgah became curious, people usually got hurt.
Nicole, Ashbel, and Bella were sitting in the library.
None of them was reading.
The discovery from the hidden room had changed everything.
Bella placed her hands on the table.
"Let's go over this again."
Nicole sighed.
"We followed Rohgah."
"He disappeared."
"We found a secret room."
"There were magical symbols."
"And Machir appeared."
Ashbel shivered.
"Then he called us royals."
Nicole looked at her.
"Which means he knew exactly who we were."
Bella nodded.
"That concerns me."
Nicole leaned forward.
"What concerns me more is that he looked afraid when I asked what he was hiding."
Ashbel looked down.
"Maybe it was about Sofia."
Silence.
Bella nodded slowly.
"Probably."
Nicole's eyes hardened.
"Then Sofia is connected to Machir."
Ashbel whispered,
"And Rohgah."
Bella looked at both of them.
"We need proof."
Nicole smiled.
"We'll get it."
Ashbel shook her head.
"I have a feeling we're walking into something dangerous."
Nicole reached across the table.
"That's why we're doing it together."
Bella placed her hand over Nicole's.
Ashbel smiled and placed hers on top.
"Together."
They didn't know that their little investigation would eventually place all three of them directly in the path of a secret that even entire kingdoms had failed to uncover.
That afternoon, the school announced an upcoming event.
The principal stood at the front of the assembly hall.
"This Friday, Ravenshade High will begin its annual wilderness training tour."
Students immediately became excited.
The tour was one of the school's oldest traditions.
Three days in the Blackthorn Forest.
No phones.
No magical shortcuts.
Students would camp, train, and complete survival challenges under the supervision of teachers and senior prefects.
The principal continued.
"Because of the dangerous creatures known to inhabit the forest, students are required to remain with their assigned groups."
Rohgah stood beside the teachers.
His head prefect badge gleamed against his uniform.
Nicole looked at him.
"Why do I feel like this trip is going to be a disaster?"
Bella laughed.
"Because your life is a disaster."
Nicole elbowed her.
Ashbel smiled.
"At least we'll be together."
Then the principal read the group assignments.
"Group Seven will consist of…"
He paused.
"Nicole Shashak."
Nicole sighed.
"Ashbel Rapha."
Ashbel smiled.
"Bella Omri."
Bella nodded.
"Rohgah Perez."
All three girls looked at each other.
Nicole's mouth dropped open.
"No."
Bella burst out laughing.
Ashbel covered her face.
The principal continued.
"And Sofia."
The laughter stopped.
Nicole slowly turned toward Rohgah.
He was already looking at Sofia.
Sofia looked terrified.
Nicole whispered,
"This is going to be interesting."
After the assembly, Sofia rushed toward the courtyard.
Rohgah followed.
"Sofia."
She kept walking.
"Sofia, stop."
She finally turned.
"What?"
"We're in the same group."
"I know."
"Then we'll be together for three days."
"I know."
Rohgah smiled.
"You're not happy."
"No."
"Why?"
"Because I know what happens when you're around me."
"What?"
"You ask questions."
"I have questions."
"Exactly."
Rohgah stepped closer.
"And you're going to answer them."
Sofia shook her head.
"I can't."
"You keep saying that."
"Because it's true."
"Then tell me what you can."
Sofia looked at him.
"Stay away from me."
Rohgah smiled sadly.
"I don't think I can."
Her eyes widened.
"Why?"
He didn't answer immediately.
Because he didn't know how to explain it.
Every time he tried to stay away from her, something pulled him back.
Something stronger than curiosity.
Stronger than attraction.
Something he couldn't name.
"I just can't."
Sofia's heart hurt.
She wanted to tell him the truth.
She wanted to tell him that every step he took toward her made everything more dangerous.
Instead, she whispered,
"Then you'll regret it."
She walked away.
That evening, Nicole was in her room when someone knocked.
She opened the door.
Ashbel stood outside.
"We need to talk."
Nicole stepped aside.
Bella was already inside.
Nicole frowned.
"What happened?"
Bella held up a piece of paper.
"I found this."
Nicole took it.
It was an old student record.
The paper was yellow and worn.
At the top was the name:
MACHIR PEREZ.
Nicole's eyes widened.
"Where did you get this?"
"In the archive."
Ashbel closed the door.
"Look at the date."
Nicole did.
The record was from twenty years earlier.
"That's impossible."
Bella nodded.
"That's what I thought."
Nicole read the document again.
Machir Perez had attended Ravenshade.
But there was something strange.
His record had been sealed.
Not merely restricted.
Sealed by royal authority.
Nicole looked up.
"Why would the kingdoms seal a student's record?"
Ashbel shook her head.
"I don't know."
Bella pointed at the bottom.
"There."
Nicole read the handwritten note.
Her face changed.
SUBJECT CONNECTED TO THE DISAPPEARANCE OF TWO CHILDREN.
Silence filled the room.
Ashbel whispered,
"Two children?"
Bella nodded.
"That's what it says."
Nicole looked toward the window.
"And Sofia?"
Nobody answered.
Far away, inside an ancient mansion surrounded by black trees, Machir stood in front of a fireplace.
Rohgah had just returned home.
His father didn't look at him.
"How was school?"
"Fine."
"Did you speak to Sofia?"
Rohgah stopped.
"Yes."
Machir's eyes remained on the fire.
"You were told not to."
Rohgah's voice hardened.
"I want to know why."
"You don't need to."
"I disagree."
Machir turned.
"You are becoming too curious."
"And you're becoming too secretive."
The room became silent.
Machir walked toward him.
"You are my son."
"I know."
"Then trust me."
Rohgah laughed bitterly.
"That's difficult when you refuse to tell me anything."
Machir's expression hardened.
"There are things about your past that you were never meant to know."
Rohgah froze.
"My past?"
"Forget I said that."
"No."
Rohgah stepped closer.
"What don't I know?"
Machir stared at him.
For a moment, something almost like guilt crossed his face.
Then it vanished.
"Go to your room."
Rohgah refused to move.
"Father."
"Now."
Rohgah stared at him for several seconds before walking away.
Machir waited until the footsteps disappeared.
Then he closed his eyes.
A memory surfaced.
A woman screaming.
A newborn baby crying.
Another child being carried away.
Blood.
Fire.
And a promise.
Machir opened his eyes.
"No one will ever know."
The next morning, Sofia woke from a nightmare.
She sat upright, breathing heavily.
In her dream, she had been standing beside a river.
A little boy was crying.
She reached toward him.
Then a woman's voice screamed.
"Take the girl!"
Someone grabbed her.
The little boy disappeared.
Sofia ran after him.
Then everything went black.
She pressed a hand against her chest.
"Why do I keep dreaming about him?"
A knock came at the door.
She quickly wiped her face.
"Who?"
"Me."
Elena.
Sofia opened the door.
Elena looked at her.
"You dreamed about him again."
Sofia froze.
"How do you know?"
Elena stepped inside.
"Because I know what you're carrying."
Sofia stared at her.
"What do you mean?"
Elena looked toward the window.
"Machir isn't the only person who knows the truth."
Sofia's heart stopped.
"Who else knows?"
Elena turned back.
"Someone you wouldn't expect."
"Who?"
Before Elena could answer, a loud bell rang across the school.
Both girls looked toward the courtyard.
The wilderness tour had officially begun.
And somewhere inside Blackthorn Forest, the first crack in Machir's secret was about to become a wound that could no longer be hidden.