Rohgah couldn't breathe.
He sat upright in the darkness, staring at the empty room.
His heart was pounding so hard that he could hear it.
Find your mother before Machir finds her first.
The voice was gone.
But the words remained.
His mother.
For eighteen years, Rohgah had believed she was dead.
Machir had told him the story countless times.
She died protecting him.
She died because of him.
She was gone.
But now…
What if none of it was true?
Rohgah climbed out of bed.
His hands were trembling.
He walked toward the mirror.
For a moment, he saw his own reflection.
Then the reflection changed.
A woman appeared behind him.
Silver hair.
Pale skin.
A small scar beneath her left eye.
Rohgah spun around.
Nobody.
He turned back toward the mirror.
The woman was still there.
She was crying.
"Mother?"
The mirror cracked.
Rohgah stepped backward.
The woman raised her hand.
Around her neck was the necklace Sofia had described.
The black stone surrounded by silver.
Rohgah reached toward the mirror.
"Where are you?"
Her lips moved.
But no sound came out.
Then the mirror shattered.
Rohgah jumped back.
A tiny piece of glass fell to the floor.
Engraved on it was a single symbol.
The same black-and-silver symbol.
His blood ran cold.
Someone had been watching him.
Sofia woke screaming.
She sat upright, clutching her chest.
Her room was freezing.
The windows were covered in frost.
"Sofia!"
Nicole rushed inside.
"What happened?"
Sofia couldn't answer.
She was shaking violently.
Nicole sat beside her.
"Talk to me."
"I saw her."
"Who?"
"My mother."
Nicole froze.
"What?"
Sofia stared at the window.
"She was standing beside the river."
"What did she say?"
"Nothing."
Sofia swallowed.
"But she was crying."
Nicole took her hand.
"Was it a dream?"
Sofia shook her head.
"No."
She looked terrified.
"It felt real."
The door opened.
Ashbel and Bella entered.
"What's happening?" Ashbel asked.
Sofia looked at them.
"I think my mother is alive."
Bella's expression changed.
"Then we find her."
Sofia looked at her.
"You make it sound easy."
"It won't be."
Bella walked closer.
"But we have something now."
"What?"
"A reason."
Sofia stared at her.
Bella placed a hand on her shoulder.
"You're not searching alone."
Sofia's eyes filled with tears.
"Thank you."
Then a loud bell rang.
All four girls looked toward the corridor.
The emergency alarm.
Again.
And again.
Nicole stood.
"Not again."
Ashbel's eyes glowed faintly blue.
"There is something outside."
Bella grabbed her sword.
Sofia's heart began pounding.
"What?"
Ashbel looked toward the window.
"Magic."
The entire school was awake.
Students were being moved into the underground chambers.
Teachers shouted instructions.
Guards ran through the halls.
Rohgah emerged from his room carrying the broken piece of mirror.
He immediately saw Sofia.
Their eyes met.
She ran toward him.
"Rohgah."
He caught her shoulders.
"Are you okay?"
"I saw our mother."
His expression changed.
"So did I."
Sofia stared at him.
"You saw her too?"
Rohgah nodded.
"She appeared in my mirror."
Sofia's breathing became unsteady.
"What did she look like?"
"Exactly how you described her."
Sofia's eyes filled with tears.
"The scar?"
"Under her left eye."
"The necklace?"
Rohgah held up the broken glass.
"The same one."
Sofia covered her mouth.
"Our mother is alive."
For the first time, saying it aloud made it real.
Rohgah nodded.
"But someone doesn't want us to find her."
Machir appeared at the end of the corridor.
His expression was unreadable.
Rohgah immediately stepped toward him.
"You knew."
Machir stopped.
"You knew she was alive."
"I told you, I don't know where she is."
"But you know she's alive."
Machir said nothing.
Sofia walked toward him.
"You lied to me."
"I was protecting you."
"Stop saying that!"
Her voice echoed through the hallway.
Everyone became silent.
Sofia's eyes filled with tears.
"You keep calling your lies protection."
Machir stared at her.
"You let me believe my mother was dead."
"I never said she was dead."
"You let me believe it!"
Machir looked away.
Sofia's voice broke.
"I cried for her."
A tear fell.
"I thought she didn't want me."
Machir's expression softened.
"Sofia…"
"No."
She stepped backward.
"You don't get to say my name like you care about me."
Rohgah looked at Machir.
"Where is she?"
Machir didn't answer.
"Where is our mother?"
"I don't know."
Rohgah's eyes turned silver.
"Then who does?"
Machir looked toward the window.
"The Hollow."
The corridor became silent.
Sofia whispered,
"Why would the Hollow know where our mother is?"
Machir looked at her.
"Because your mother was the reason it was created."
Sofia's blood ran cold.
"What?"
Machir said nothing more.
Before anyone could question him, the school shook.
A violent wave of magic passed through the walls.
Students screamed.
The windows shattered.
Black mist poured into the corridor.
Rohgah immediately stepped in front of Sofia.
"Stay behind me."
The mist stopped.
It gathered into a shape.
A tall woman.
Silver hair.
Pale face.
The same scar beneath her eye.
Sofia stopped breathing.
"Mother…"
The figure smiled sadly.
"My children."
Rohgah froze.
Sofia began crying.
"Mother?"
The figure reached toward them.
But before she could touch them, Machir attacked.
A blast of magic struck the figure.
She screamed.
The mist exploded.
Sofia screamed.
"STOP!"
Rohgah turned toward Machir.
"What did you do?"
Machir's face was grim.
"That wasn't your mother."
Sofia shook her head.
"It was her!"
"No."
"You saw her!"
"I saw what the Hollow wanted you to see."
Sofia stared at him.
"You don't know that."
"I do."
"How?"
Machir's voice became quiet.
"Because I buried her."
Rohgah's face went blank.
Sofia's tears stopped.
"What?"
Machir looked at them.
"Your mother died eighteen years ago."
Rohgah clenched his fists.
"Then why did we both see her?"
Machir looked toward the black mist.
"Because the Hollow has her memory."
Sofia felt dizzy.
"What does that mean?"
"It means…"
Machir hesitated.
"The Hollow has been feeding on your mother's magic."
The ground beneath them cracked.
A whisper traveled through the school.
"She is mine."
Sofia's blood turned cold.
The voice continued.
"And soon…"
The black mist moved toward her.
"…so will you be."
Rohgah's magic exploded.
Silver light filled the corridor.
"NO!"
The mist recoiled.
But before disappearing, the Hollow left one final message.
"Come to the river."
Then everything went silent.
Rohgah looked at Sofia.
She was staring at him.
"The river."
He nodded.
"The place from our memories."
Machir immediately stepped forward.
"No."
Rohgah turned.
"We're going."
"You don't understand."
"Then explain it."
Machir's face became pale.
"The river is where your mother disappeared."
Sofia's voice trembled.
"Then that's where we're going."
Machir shook his head.
"If you go there, the Hollow will find you."
Sofia wiped her tears.
"It already found me."
She took Rohgah's hand.
"I'm done running."
Rohgah squeezed her hand.
"So am I."
Nicole, Ashbel, and Bella stepped beside them.
Machir looked at all five of them.
"You have no idea what waits at that river."
Nicole raised her chin.
"Then we'll find out."
Ashbel nodded.
Bella drew her sword.
Sofia looked at the broken piece of mirror in Rohgah's hand.
The symbol on it suddenly began glowing.
Then a final image appeared.
A woman standing beside a river.
Holding two newborn babies.
Behind her stood a young Machir.
And beside him…
A second man.
Someone Rohgah had never seen before.
Rohgah stared at the image.
"Who is that?"
Machir went completely still.
Sofia looked at him.
"You know him."
Machir whispered,
"Yes."
"Who is he?"
Machir's eyes filled with fear.
"He is the reason your mother had to disappear."
The image vanished.
And for the first time, Machir looked more frightened than Rohgah had ever seen him.
"His name…"
Machir swallowed.
"…is Vaelor."
Far away, beneath an abandoned temple, a man with silver eyes opened them.
He smiled.
"They finally remembered."
And beside him, an imprisoned woman with long silver hair lifted her head.
She whispered one word.
"Rohgah."
Then she began to cry.