THE WORD SHE SHOULDN'T HAVE SAID
Morning came to Blackthorn Forest with an unnatural silence.
No birds sang.
No insects buzzed.
Even the wind seemed afraid to move through the trees.
Sofia sat alone inside her tent, staring at the silver pendant lying in her palm.
The two intertwined circles glowed faintly.
One black.
One silver.
She closed her fingers around it.
"Brother."
The word escaped her lips again.
Sofia immediately covered her mouth.
Her heart pounded.
"No."
She shook her head violently.
"I didn't say that."
But she knew she had.
She had said it.
And worse, Rohgah had heard it.
She could still remember the way he had looked at her the night before.
Confused.
Suspicious.
Almost afraid.
She slowly opened her hand.
The pendant was warm.
Too warm.
Then something strange happened.
The silver circle began glowing brighter.
Sofia dropped it.
The moment it touched the ground, a whisper filled the tent.
"Find him."
Sofia froze.
"Who?"
Silence.
Then—
"Your brother."
Her eyes widened.
"No."
She grabbed the pendant and threw it into her bag.
"I won't do this again."
Outside, footsteps approached.
Sofia's breathing stopped.
"Sofia?"
Rohgah.
She quickly wiped the tears from her face.
"I'm coming."
She stepped outside.
Rohgah stood several feet away, staring at her.
His eyes were different.
There was something darker in them.
"You heard it too," he said.
Sofia said nothing.
"The voice."
Her heart sank.
"What voice?"
"Don't lie to me."
Rohgah stepped closer.
"When you woke up last night, you said something."
Sofia looked away.
"What did I say?"
Rohgah stared directly into her eyes.
"You called me brother."
The forest seemed to become even quieter.
Sofia's fingers tightened around her bag.
"I was dreaming."
"You weren't."
"I was."
"You looked at me when you said it."
Sofia swallowed hard.
"I don't know why I said it."
Rohgah studied her face.
"You know something about me."
"No."
"You know something about my past."
"No."
"You know my father."
Sofia's eyes flickered.
Rohgah noticed.
"Machir," he whispered.
Sofia stepped back.
"Stay away from me, Rohgah."
"Why?"
"Because I am warning you."
"You've been warning me since the day I met you."
"Because you don't understand."
"Then explain it!"
His voice echoed through the forest.
Sofia flinched.
Rohgah immediately lowered his voice.
"I keep seeing things."
Sofia stared at him.
"A woman."
Her face went pale.
"A river."
Sofia's breathing became uneven.
"A baby."
She looked down.
"A little girl."
Sofia's eyes filled with tears.
"And someone taking her away."
She slowly shook her head.
"Stop."
Rohgah stepped closer.
"Was that you?"
Sofia couldn't answer.
"Was that little girl you?"
Still nothing.
"Who was the baby?"
Sofia closed her eyes.
"Please."
"Was it me?"
A tear slipped down her cheek.
Rohgah's expression changed.
He didn't need her answer.
"You know."
Sofia opened her eyes.
"I know nothing."
Then she turned and ran.
"Sofia!"
Rohgah followed.
But before he could catch her, Nicole stepped between them.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Rohgah stopped.
Nicole's eyes narrowed.
"You've been chasing that girl since yesterday."
"This doesn't concern you."
"It concerns me when my friend keeps disappearing because of you."
Ashbel and Bella approached behind Nicole.
Bella folded her arms.
"Something happened last night."
Rohgah looked at them.
"Ask Sofia."
"We would," Ashbel replied, "if she would tell us anything."
Rohgah looked toward the trees where Sofia had disappeared.
"She knows something about me."
Nicole's expression hardened.
"What?"
"I don't know."
Bella frowned.
"That doesn't make sense."
"She called me brother."
All three girls froze.
Nicole's mouth slightly opened.
Ashbel's eyes widened.
Bella's hand moved instinctively toward the sword at her waist.
"Brother?" Bella repeated.
Rohgah nodded.
Ashbel whispered, "That's impossible."
"Why?" Rohgah asked.
Ashbel hesitated.
"Because…"
She looked at Nicole and Bella.
They exchanged a nervous glance.
Nicole finally spoke.
"Because Sofia looks like she has known you longer than you've known her."
Rohgah's eyes narrowed.
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying," Nicole replied, "that maybe this isn't the first time you've met her."
Before Rohgah could answer, a horn sounded across the forest.
All four looked up.
The school instructors were calling everyone back.
"Everyone! Return to camp immediately!"
Another horn followed.
Then another.
Bella frowned.
"That isn't the normal signal."
Rohgah suddenly felt something cold move through his body.
The pendant.
He couldn't see it, but he could feel it.
Something was calling him.
Something beneath the forest.
Then the Guardian appeared between the trees.
The massive creature stared directly at Rohgah.
Nicole stepped forward.
"What does it want?"
The Guardian ignored her.
It lowered its head.
Then it turned toward the deeper forest.
Rohgah stared at it.
"You want me to follow you?"
The Guardian moved away.
Rohgah took one step forward.
"Don't," Nicole warned.
He ignored her.
"Rohgah!" Bella shouted.
But he was already walking.
He followed the Guardian through the trees.
The deeper they went, the colder the air became.
Eventually, they reached a clearing.
At the center stood an enormous stone covered in ancient symbols.
Rohgah approached.
The moment his fingers touched it—
FLASH!
A vision exploded inside his mind.
A woman stood beside a river.
She was crying.
In her arms was a newborn baby.
Another child stood beside her.
A little girl.
The girl was holding the woman's dress.
"Please," the woman begged someone.
A shadow stood opposite her.
Machir.
Young.
Angry.
Terrified.
Then the woman screamed.
Someone grabbed the little girl.
"Take the girl!"
"No!"
The woman fought desperately.
The baby began crying.
The little girl reached toward him.
"Don't take my brother!"
Rohgah's eyes flew open.
He staggered backward.
His hand trembled.
"Brother…"
The word came from his lips.
Suddenly, the stone cracked.
A deep rumbling shook the ground.
The Guardian growled.
A symbol appeared on Rohgah's palm.
Two circles.
Black and silver.
The same symbol on Sofia's pendant.
Rohgah stared at it.
"What am I?"
A voice answered from behind him.
"You are the boy who was never supposed to survive."
Rohgah spun around.
There was no one there.
Only the trees.
Then the voice came again.
"And she is the girl who was taken from you."
Rohgah's heart stopped.
"Sofia?"
The Guardian suddenly roared.
The entire forest shook.
Far away, Sofia dropped to her knees.
She felt something burn inside her chest.
She pulled the pendant from her bag.
The two circles were glowing violently.
"No…"
Tears filled her eyes.
"He found it."
Back at the clearing, Rohgah stared at his glowing palm.
For the first time in his life, he felt afraid of his own power.
Then Machir's voice echoed through the forest.
"ROHGAH!"
Rohgah looked up.
Machir appeared between the trees.
His face was filled with terror.
Not anger.
Not authority.
Fear.
Rohgah had never seen his father look afraid before.
"What did you do?" Machir whispered.
Rohgah raised his hand.
"This."
Machir's eyes fell on the symbol.
His face went completely pale.
"No."
Rohgah stepped toward him.
"What is it?"
Machir said nothing.
"What is this symbol?"
Still nothing.
"WHO IS SOFIA?"
Machir closed his eyes.
Rohgah's voice became colder.
"Why did she call me brother?"
Machir opened his eyes.
For several seconds, father and son stared at each other.
Then Machir whispered the words Rohgah had feared most.
"Because there are truths about your birth that I buried for a reason."
Rohgah's blood ran cold.
"What truths?"
Machir stepped backward.
"Not here."
"Then where?"
Before Machir could answer, a scream tore through the forest.
Sofia.
Rohgah turned immediately.
"Sofia!"
He ran toward the sound.
Machir shouted after him.
"ROHGAH, DON'T!"
But Rohgah didn't stop.
And somewhere deep beneath Blackthorn Forest, something ancient opened its eyes.