The laughter beneath Ravenshade High continued.
It wasn't loud.
That somehow made it worse.
It moved through the walls like a living thing, slipping beneath doors and crawling through the corridors.
I stood completely still.
The black symbol behind me pulsed.
Once.
Twice.
Then it disappeared.
"Sofia."
Rohgah's voice pulled me back.
I looked at him.
His face was tense.
"Are you okay?"
I wanted to say yes.
I couldn't.
"I heard it."
"What did you hear?"
I swallowed.
"It told me to come home."
Nobody spoke.
The council members exchanged worried looks.
Machir stepped toward me.
"Don't listen to it."
I stared at him.
"What does it want from me?"
"It wants your blood."
My heart dropped.
"Why?"
Machir looked at Rohgah.
"Because she carries the key."
Rohgah stepped forward.
"What does that mean?"
Machir didn't answer immediately.
The eldest councilor did.
"The Hollow cannot fully enter our world without her."
Rohgah's eyes hardened.
"Then it won't get her."
The councilor studied him.
"You don't understand what you're promising."
"I don't care."
"You should."
Rohgah moved closer to Sofia.
"I've spent my entire life not knowing I had a sister. I'm not losing her again."
Something tightened inside my chest.
I looked away.
I didn't know how to feel.
A few hours ago, I had thought Rohgah was simply a powerful boy who had somehow become important to me.
Now I knew he was family.
My brother.
And somehow that truth made every strange memory feel more painful.
The little boy beside the river.
The hand I had held.
The voice calling my name.
It was all real.
For years, I had been searching for something I couldn't name.
Now I had found it.
And it was standing in front of me.
The council ordered the school evacuated.
Students were moved into protected chambers beneath Ravenshade while teachers and supernatural guards surrounded the building.
No one was allowed outside.
The sky had turned completely black.
There was no moon.
No stars.
Only darkness.
Nicole stood beside a window.
"This isn't normal."
Ashbel looked at the sky.
"Nothing about today is normal."
Bella tightened the straps around her sword.
"We need to prepare."
Nicole turned toward her.
"For what?"
Bella looked at Sofia.
"For an attack."
Sofia felt a chill.
"They're coming for me."
Rohgah immediately shook his head.
"No."
Bella looked at him.
"Rohgah."
"No one is taking her."
"You can't protect her alone."
"I don't need to."
Nicole stepped between them.
"Then stop arguing."
They all looked at her.
She crossed her arms.
"We're doing this together."
Ashbel nodded.
"She's right."
Bella smiled slightly.
"Finally."
Rohgah looked at the three girls.
"You shouldn't be involved."
Nicole rolled her eyes.
"Too late."
Ashbel smiled.
"We're already involved."
Bella drew her sword halfway.
"And I don't run from monsters."
Rohgah almost smiled.
Almost.
Then Sofia spoke.
"I need to tell you something."
Everyone became quiet.
She looked at Rohgah.
"I remembered another part of my childhood."
Rohgah stepped closer.
"What?"
"I remember our mother."
His expression changed.
"What did she look like?"
I closed my eyes.
"I don't know her face clearly."
"Try."
I concentrated.
A woman appeared in my mind.
Long silver hair.
Pale skin.
A small scar beneath her left eye.
And a necklace.
A strange necklace with a black stone surrounded by silver.
I opened my eyes.
"She wore a necklace."
Machir suddenly froze.
Rohgah noticed.
"You know it."
Machir looked away.
"What necklace?"
I described it.
His expression became darker.
"The necklace belonged to your mother."
Rohgah's voice sharpened.
"Where is it?"
Machir didn't answer.
"Where?"
"I don't know."
"You're lying."
Machir stared at him.
"Some things are better left buried."
Rohgah stepped toward him.
"You've said that enough."
Before the argument could continue, a scream came from the hallway.
Everyone turned.
A guard came running.
"Sir!"
The headmaster rushed toward him.
"What happened?"
"The lower chamber."
"What about it?"
The guard was shaking.
"The protective seal has been broken."
Machir's face changed.
"How?"
The guard swallowed.
"We don't know."
Then another scream came.
This time, it was closer.
The lights flickered.
Sofia felt something cold touch the back of her neck.
She turned.
Nothing.
Then she heard a whisper.
Liora.
She froze.
"Sofia?"
Rohgah looked at her.
"I heard it again."
"What?"
"The Hollow."
Machir immediately raised his hand.
A protective barrier formed around her.
But the whisper continued.
Liora.
Then another voice joined it.
Come home.
Sofia covered her ears.
"Stop!"
The floor trembled.
Rohgah grabbed her shoulders.
"Look at me."
She opened her eyes.
"Don't listen."
The whisper became louder.
You were taken from us.
Sofia's breathing stopped.
"What?"
They lied to you.
Rohgah stared at her.
The voice continued.
Your mother did not die.
Sofia went completely still.
Machir's face turned white.
"What did it say?"
Sofia looked at him.
"It said my mother is alive."
Silence.
Rohgah turned toward Machir.
"Is she?"
Machir didn't answer.
Rohgah's voice became dangerous.
"Is our mother alive?"
Machir closed his eyes.
"I don't know."
"You're lying again."
"I don't know where she is."
Sofia stepped forward.
"You said she was dead."
Machir looked at her.
"I said she was gone."
Rohgah stared at him.
"Those aren't the same thing."
Machir said nothing.
The silence was answer enough.
That night, Sofia couldn't sleep.
She sat beside the window in the protected chamber.
Rain struck the glass.
Rohgah entered quietly.
He sat across from her.
Neither spoke for several minutes.
Finally, he said,
"I don't remember you."
Sofia looked at him.
"I know."
"I should."
"You were little."
"So were you."
She smiled sadly.
"Maybe that's why it hurts."
Rohgah looked down.
"I keep thinking about that river."
"So do I."
"What happened after they took you?"
Sofia shook her head.
"I don't remember."
"Who took you?"
"I don't know."
Rohgah clenched his fists.
"I'll find out."
Sofia looked at him.
"You don't have to fix everything."
"You're my sister."
The words were simple.
But they broke something inside her.
She looked away quickly so he wouldn't see her tears.
Rohgah noticed anyway.
He stood.
"You don't have to cry alone anymore."
Sofia wiped her face.
"Neither do you."
For the first time since discovering the truth, they smiled at each other.
Then the door opened.
Nicole entered.
She stopped when she saw them.
Her expression was strange.
"Sofia, can I talk to you?"
Rohgah stood.
"I'll leave."
Nicole nodded.
After he left, Nicole closed the door.
For several seconds, she said nothing.
Then she asked,
"Do you love him?"
Sofia stared at her.
"What?"
"Rohgah."
Sofia immediately shook her head.
"He's my brother."
"I know."
Nicole's voice cracked.
"But before we knew that…"
Sofia looked at her.
Nicole looked down.
"I liked him."
Sofia's heart sank.
She didn't know what to say.
Nicole laughed bitterly.
"I know how ridiculous that sounds now."
"It doesn't."
"It does to me."
She wiped away a tear.
"I thought I was jealous because I thought you wanted him."
Sofia stepped closer.
"I never wanted to hurt you."
"I know."
Nicole took a deep breath.
"But I still feel stupid."
Sofia hugged her.
Nicole hesitated before hugging her back.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Nicole whispered,
"We're still friends, right?"
Sofia smiled.
"Always."
Far beneath Ravenshade High, something moved.
A dark figure stood inside a chamber covered in ancient symbols.
The Hollow had not fully entered the world.
But its shadow had.
The figure lifted a small silver necklace.
The same necklace Sofia had described.
A woman's voice echoed from the darkness.
"She remembered."
The figure smiled.
"Not everything."
"But enough."
A second voice answered.
"What about the boy?"
The figure turned toward a stone wall.
A picture appeared.
Rohgah.
Then Sofia.
Then the ancient symbol between them.
"The boy is becoming stronger."
"Then kill him."
The figure shook its head.
"No."
"Why?"
"Because the prophecy doesn't need him dead."
The figure smiled.
"It needs him afraid."
A cold wind moved through the chamber.
"And once he fears losing his sister…"
The figure's eyes glowed red.
"…he will awaken the power the Hollow has been waiting eighteen years to claim."
Above them, Rohgah suddenly woke from his sleep.
His eyes turned silver.
He heard a voice.
Not the Hollow.
A woman's voice.
Soft.
Broken.
Familiar.
"My son…"
Rohgah sat upright.
His heart raced.
He looked around the empty room.
"Who are you?"
Silence.
Then the voice whispered one final sentence.
"Find your mother before Machir finds her first."
Rohgah's eyes widened.
And somewhere in the darkness outside Ravenshade, a woman with silver hair opened her eyes.