The name stayed with me long after Machir stopped speaking.
Vaelor.
I had never heard it before.
Yet the moment Machir said it, something inside me reacted.
Fear.
Not the kind that came from hearing a frightening name.
This was different.
It felt like my body remembered something my mind couldn't.
I looked at Rohgah.
He was staring at Machir.
"Who is Vaelor?"
Machir didn't answer.
Rohgah stepped closer.
"I asked you a question."
"He is someone from the past."
"Everyone from the past seems to be connected to us."
Machir's expression hardened.
"Because you keep digging."
Sofia stepped forward.
"And we're going to keep digging."
Machir looked at her.
"You don't understand what Vaelor is capable of."
"Then tell us."
"He isn't like me."
Rohgah frowned.
"You said you were the most powerful wizard alive."
"I was."
Machir's voice dropped.
"Vaelor was something else."
The hallway became silent.
Nicole crossed her arms.
"What does that mean?"
Machir looked toward the broken windows.
"Vaelor wasn't born with magic."
Ashbel frowned.
"Then how did he become powerful?"
Machir's face darkened.
"He stole it."
Bella's hand tightened around her sword.
"From whom?"
Machir looked at Sofia.
"From your mother."
Sofia's face went pale.
"No."
Machir nodded slowly.
"Your mother was one of the strongest magical beings ever born."
Rohgah stared at him.
"Then why don't we know anything about her?"
"Because her name was erased."
Sofia's voice trembled.
"What was her name?"
Machir hesitated.
"Seraya."
Sofia closed her eyes.
The moment she heard the name, another memory struck her.
A woman singing.
A river.
A baby crying.
A silver necklace.
"Seraya," she whispered.
Rohgah looked at her.
"You remember?"
Sofia nodded.
"She was singing."
"What song?"
Sofia shook her head.
"I can't remember."
She pressed her fingers against her temple.
"Wait."
Another image appeared.
A small house beside the river.
Seraya holding a baby.
Rohgah's baby cries.
Sofia laughing.
Then the door opened.
Vaelor entered.
Sofia screamed.
The memory vanished.
She collapsed.
Rohgah caught her.
"Sofia!"
She gripped his shirt.
"He was there."
"Who?"
"Vaelor."
Her breathing became rapid.
"He came into our house."
Machir's face changed.
"What did you see?"
"Mother was afraid of him."
Machir closed his eyes.
"I knew it."
Rohgah looked at him.
"You knew he would return."
Machir didn't answer.
"You knew."
"Vaelor has been searching for your mother for eighteen years."
Sofia stared at him.
"Why?"
"Because he believes she still possesses something he needs."
"What?"
Machir looked at Rohgah.
"Her power."
Rohgah's eyes narrowed.
"Why would he need her power?"
"Because the Hollow wasn't created by accident."
Everyone became still.
Machir continued.
"It was created from stolen magic."
Ashbel's face went pale.
"Stolen from Seraya?"
Machir nodded.
"Vaelor tried to take all of it."
Bella asked,
"Then how did she survive?"
Machir looked away.
"She didn't."
Sofia's eyes filled with tears.
"But you said she disappeared."
"I said what I needed you to believe."
Sofia stepped toward him.
"You lied again."
"I was trying to keep you alive."
She shook her head.
"You always say that."
Machir looked at her.
"Because it's true."
Sofia's voice broke.
"You took my brother."
She pointed at Rohgah.
"You took my mother."
Then she touched her chest.
"And you took my memories."
Machir had no answer.
Rohgah stepped between them.
"Enough."
Sofia looked at him.
Rohgah's expression softened.
"We'll find her."
Machir immediately said,
"You may not like what you find."
Sofia wiped her tears.
"I don't care."
They left Ravenshade before sunrise.
Only five people went.
Rohgah.
Sofia.
Nicole.
Ashbel.
Bella.
Machir wanted to come with them.
Rohgah refused.
"You've hidden enough from us."
Machir stared at his son.
"The river isn't safe."
"Neither is this school."
"If Vaelor finds you—"
"He already knows where we are."
Machir fell silent.
The five of them walked through the forest.
The path was narrow.
Fog covered the ground.
Sofia stayed close to Rohgah.
Every few minutes, she looked at him.
Not because she was afraid of the forest.
Because she still couldn't believe she had found him.
Her little brother.
She remembered fragments now.
Him crying.
Him laughing.
Him sleeping beside her.
Him holding her finger when he was a baby.
She smiled.
Rohgah noticed.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"You keep staring at me."
Sofia laughed softly.
"I'm remembering."
"Something good?"
She nodded.
"You were annoying."
Rohgah raised an eyebrow.
"Me?"
"You cried whenever I left the room."
Nicole laughed.
"That sounds like him."
Rohgah looked offended.
"I was a baby."
"You were a dramatic baby."
Bella smiled.
Ashbel laughed.
For a brief moment, the darkness disappeared.
Then Sofia stopped walking.
Her smile vanished.
"What?"
Rohgah turned.
She pointed ahead.
"The river."
They had reached it.
The same river from their memories.
Black water flowed silently between ancient trees.
Sofia felt her heart break.
"I know this place."
Rohgah nodded.
"So do I."
They walked toward the water.
Suddenly Sofia saw something.
A small stone house hidden among the trees.
Her breath caught.
"That's it."
Rohgah followed her gaze.
"What?"
"Our home."
They approached slowly.
The door was broken.
Vines covered the walls.
Inside, dust covered everything.
But one thing remained untouched.
A wooden cradle.
Sofia walked toward it.
Her fingers trembled as she touched it.
"I remember this."
Rohgah stood beside her.
"Our mother used to sing here."
Sofia nodded.
Then she noticed something carved into the wall.
Two names.
LIORA.
ROHGAH.
Underneath them was a third name.
SERAYA.
Sofia touched it.
A hidden compartment opened.
Inside was a small black box.
Rohgah picked it up.
There was no lock.
The moment his fingers touched it, the box opened.
Inside was a letter.
Sofia took it.
Her hands shook as she unfolded the paper.
The writing was faded.
But she could still read it.
My children,
If you ever find this, then the spell has failed.
I need you to know one thing.
I never abandoned you.
I was forced to choose between keeping you together and keeping you alive.
I chose your lives.
Forgive me.
Your mother, Seraya.
Sofia couldn't breathe.
She pressed the letter against her chest.
"She didn't abandon us."
Rohgah's eyes filled with tears.
"No."
Sofia began crying.
"She loved us."
Rohgah nodded.
"She loved us."
Nicole quietly stepped outside with Ashbel and Bella, giving them privacy.
Sofia sank onto the floor.
For eighteen years, she had carried the belief that her mother had left her.
Now she knew the truth.
She had been fighting to protect them.
Sofia cried harder.
Rohgah sat beside her.
He didn't tell her to stop.
He simply held her.
Then something fell from the envelope.
A small silver key.
Rohgah picked it up.
There was a symbol engraved on it.
The black-and-silver circle.
Sofia looked at him.
"What does it open?"
A sound came from beneath the floor.
Click.
Both froze.
The wooden boards moved.
A hidden staircase appeared.
Darkness waited below.
Rohgah stood.
"Stay here."
Sofia grabbed his hand.
"No."
He looked at her.
"We go together."
They descended.
At the bottom was a stone chamber.
And in the center stood a massive mirror.
The surface was black.
Then it changed.
A woman appeared.
Seraya.
She was alive.
She was chained inside a dark room.
Sofia screamed.
"Mother!"
The woman lifted her head.
Her eyes widened.
"Liora?"
Sofia collapsed to her knees.
"It's me."
Seraya pressed her hands against the mirror.
"My daughter…"
Rohgah stepped forward.
"Mother."
Seraya looked at him.
Her face crumbled.
"My son."
Then another figure entered the room behind her.
A tall man.
Silver eyes.
Long black hair.
A cruel smile.
Vaelor.
He looked directly through the mirror.
And smiled.
"So…"
His voice was calm.
"The children have finally come home."
The mirror went black.
And behind Rohgah and Sofia, the chamber door slammed shut.