"ROHGAH!"
Sofia's scream reached me just as the floor disappeared beneath my feet.
I fell.
For one terrifying second, there was nothing beneath me but darkness.
I reached for something—anything—but my fingers caught only air.
Then Sofia grabbed my wrist.
"I've got you!"
Her body slammed against the edge of the broken floor. She cried out, but she refused to let go.
"Sofia, let me go!"
"No!"
"You'll fall too!"
"I said no!"
Her fingers tightened around mine.
Below us, the Hollow moved.
I could see its enormous black shape twisting beneath the earth.
Its voice filled the chamber.
"Come home…"
My palm burned again.
Silver light erupted from my hand.
The Hollow reacted immediately.
It screamed.
The sound shook the entire chamber.
Sofia pulled harder.
"Rohgah!"
I looked up at her.
Our eyes met.
For a moment, I wasn't the head prefect.
I wasn't Machir's son.
I wasn't the person everyone feared.
I was simply her brother.
And she was the sister I had spent my entire life forgetting.
"I trust you," I whispered.
Sofia's eyes filled with tears.
"Then hold on."
She pulled with everything she had.
I reached for the edge.
My fingers caught the stone.
Sofia screamed as she dragged me upward.
We collapsed beside each other.
Neither of us moved.
For several seconds, we simply breathed.
Then I heard laughter.
Vaelor.
He stood at the other end of the chamber.
"You two really are remarkable."
I stood slowly.
"What do you want?"
He looked at Sofia.
"The key."
Then at me.
"The vessel."
Sofia stepped in front of me.
"You won't get either."
Vaelor smiled.
"You already gave me something far more valuable."
"What?"
He pointed at the ground.
The Hollow was no longer beneath us.
It had disappeared.
But a black symbol remained where it had emerged.
The same symbol that had appeared on my palm.
I stared at it.
"What did it do?"
Vaelor's smile widened.
"It marked you."
My stomach dropped.
"For what?"
"For the awakening."
Suddenly, the chamber doors exploded open.
Nicole, Ashbel, and Bella rushed inside.
"Rohgah!"
Nicole ran toward me.
"Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine."
Ashbel looked around nervously.
"Where is the Hollow?"
"Gone," Sofia answered.
Bella tightened her grip on her sword.
"And Vaelor?"
We all turned.
He was gone.
Nicole frowned.
"He disappeared."
"He wanted us to see something," I said.
Sofia looked at me.
"Your mark."
I held up my palm.
The black symbol was still there.
Nicole's expression changed.
"What is that?"
"I don't know."
Ashbel stepped closer.
The moment she looked at it, the water inside her bottle began shaking violently.
She stepped backward.
"My magic is reacting to it."
Bella's sword began vibrating.
Nicole's eyes turned dark red.
"What is happening?"
Then a voice echoed through the chamber.
Not Vaelor.
Not the Hollow.
Machir.
"Get away from him."
Everyone froze.
A magical projection appeared in the air.
Machir's face emerged.
His expression was terrified.
I had never seen my father look that way.
"Rohgah," he said.
I stepped forward.
"You knew."
His face fell.
"Knew what?"
"You put something inside me."
Silence.
Sofia looked at him.
"What did you do to our brother?"
Machir closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, he looked exhausted.
"I sealed his power."
My heart stopped.
"You sealed me?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because you were dying."
The chamber went silent.
I stared at him.
"Dying?"
Machir nodded.
"When you were born, the Hollow had already found you."
Sofia's eyes widened.
"Our mother knew?"
"She knew."
"Then why did she leave us?"
"She didn't."
Sofia's face crumpled.
Machir swallowed.
"Seraya was taken."
"By Vaelor?"
"Yes."
I stepped closer to the projection.
"Then tell me the truth."
Machir stared at me.
"All of it."
He hesitated.
Then he said,
"You were born with a power that should never have existed."
"What power?"
"The power to command the Hollow."
Ashbel gasped.
Bella lowered her sword.
Nicole stared at me.
I couldn't speak.
Machir continued.
"Your mother could silence the Hollow. But you…"
He paused.
"You could command it."
The room felt suddenly colder.
I looked at my palm.
"That is why Vaelor wants me."
"Yes."
"And that is why the Hollow called me."
"Yes."
Sofia shook her head.
"But you said you sealed his power."
"I did."
"Then why is it awakening?"
Machir looked toward the black symbol on the floor.
"Because Vaelor has been feeding the Hollow with stolen magic for eighteen years."
My chest tightened.
"He has been preparing for me."
"Yes."
Machir's voice became quieter.
"He has been waiting for you to awaken."
I looked at Sofia.
She was staring at me with fear.
Not fear of me.
Fear for me.
I understood.
"If I become the vessel…"
"The Hollow will enter you completely," Machir said.
"And then?"
Machir didn't answer.
I already knew.
"The kingdoms fall."
He nodded.
Nicole stepped forward.
"Then we'll stop it."
Machir looked at her.
"You don't understand."
"We understand enough."
Ashbel stood beside her.
"She is right."
Bella lifted her sword.
"We're not leaving him."
Sofia stepped closer to me.
"Neither am I."
Machir looked at the five of us.
For the first time, something softened in his eyes.
Then the projection flickered.
"There's something else."
I looked at him.
"What?"
Machir hesitated.
"The prophecy was never complete."
My heart began pounding.
"What do you mean?"
"The version the Council knows is only part of it."
Sofia stepped forward.
"Then tell us the rest."
Machir shook his head.
"I can't."
"Why?"
"Because the final line was hidden."
"By whom?"
Machir looked at Sofia.
"Your mother."
Sofia froze.
"Why?"
"Because if Vaelor discovered it, he would know how to destroy you."
The projection began fading.
I shouted,
"Wait!"
Machir looked at me.
"Find Seraya."
Then his voice became barely audible.
"And when you find her…"
He paused.
"Do not let her touch the Hollow."
The projection disappeared.
Silence.
Sofia stared at the empty air.
"She is alive."
I nodded.
"And Vaelor has her."
Nicole looked at us.
"Then we find her."
Bella nodded.
"Before he does whatever he's planning."
Ashbel looked toward the broken chamber.
"But where do we start?"
Sofia slowly reached beneath her shirt.
She pulled out the necklace Seraya had given her.
The black stone glowed.
Everyone stared.
Sofia's eyes widened.
"It wasn't just a necklace."
"What is it?" I asked.
She shook her head.
"I don't know."
The stone suddenly projected an image into the air.
A river.
A forest.
A massive black tower.
And a woman with silver hair chained inside it.
Our mother.
Sofia covered her mouth.
"Mom…"
Seraya lifted her head.
Her lips moved.
No sound came out.
Then the image changed.
Vaelor appeared beside her.
He leaned toward Seraya's ear.
And this time, we heard his voice.
"You have one day."
The projection vanished.
Sofia looked at me.
"One day for what?"
I didn't know.
Then the necklace burned brighter.
A single sentence appeared in the air.
WHEN THE MOON TURNS BLACK, THE HOLLOW WILL CHOOSE ITS KING.
Nicole's face went pale.
"How long?"
Ashbel looked through the broken ceiling.
The moon was already beginning to darken.
Bella tightened her grip on her sword.
"We don't have a day."
I stared at the sky.
The moon was turning black.
And beneath Ravenshade High…
something ancient began to wake.
Sofia grabbed my hand.
"Whatever happens," she whispered, "we face it together."
I squeezed her hand.
"Together."
Then the entire school screamed.
Not one person.
Everyone.
A wave of black magic erupted from beneath Ravenshade.
Windows shattered.
Walls cracked.
The sky turned completely dark.
And a voice thundered across the supernatural world.
"THE SON HAS AWAKENED."
I looked at Sofia.
She looked terrified.
Then the voice spoke again.
"NOW BRING ME THE KEY."
The black mark on my palm opened like an eye.
And somewhere far away…
Vaelor smiled.