The tunnel seemed endless.
Every step we took carried us deeper beneath Ravenshade.
The air became colder.
The walls became wetter.
And somewhere beneath our feet, I could hear water rushing.
Sofia was gone.
My sister had been dragged into the darkness by the Hollow, and every second we spent walking instead of finding her felt like another second we were losing.
I kept moving.
Even without magic.
Even without the strength I once possessed.
I kept moving.
Nicole walked beside me.
"Are you sure you can keep going?"
"Yes."
"You almost collapsed twice."
"I said I'm fine."
She frowned.
"You don't have to pretend with us."
I stopped.
She looked at me.
For a moment, I didn't know what to say.
"I don't know who I am without my power," I admitted.
Nicole's expression softened.
"You're still Rohgah."
I looked away.
"That's what everyone keeps saying."
"Because it's true."
Ashbel joined us.
"Power never made you Rohgah."
Bella nodded.
"Your attitude did."
I almost laughed.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome."
For the first time since Sofia disappeared, I smiled.
Then Seraya stopped.
"Wait."
We all froze.
"What?" Bella asked.
Seraya placed her palm against the wall.
Her eyes closed.
"There is water behind this."
Ashbel stepped forward.
"Let me."
She pressed her hand against the stone.
The wall immediately became covered in droplets.
Ashbel's eyes widened.
"It's enormous."
"What is?" I asked.
"A river."
I stared at the wall.
"The river?"
Seraya nodded.
"The same river where you were born."
My heart tightened.
"The river from our childhood?"
"Yes."
"How can it be beneath the school?"
Seraya looked at the ancient walls.
"Because Ravenshade was built around it."
Ashbel stepped backward.
"Why?"
Seraya looked at me.
"To contain what lives beneath it."
A deep rumble echoed through the tunnel.
The wall cracked.
Water exploded through it.
We jumped backward.
A massive underground river appeared beyond the broken stone.
It stretched farther than we could see.
Its surface was completely black.
And in the center stood an island.
On the island was a house.
I stared.
"That house…"
Seraya whispered,
"Was our home."
I couldn't breathe.
The old house beside the river.
The one we had found before.
But this one was different.
This was the house as it had looked eighteen years ago.
New.
Beautiful.
And untouched by time.
Sofia was somewhere inside it.
"We have to cross."
Ashbel stepped toward the river.
"I can take us."
She raised her hands.
Water rose from the river.
A path formed across the surface.
Bella stared.
"That's impressive."
Ashbel smiled faintly.
"I've been waiting for someone to appreciate me."
Nicole rolled her eyes.
"Let's move."
We stepped onto the water.
Halfway across, I heard a whisper.
"Rohgah…"
I stopped.
Sofia.
I turned.
"Sofia?"
Nothing.
Then again.
"Rohgah…"
I looked beneath the water.
A face appeared.
A little girl.
Sofia.
She was underwater, reaching toward me.
I stepped forward.
"Liora!"
Seraya grabbed my arm.
"No!"
The image vanished.
The water exploded.
A massive creature rose from the river.
It had a long serpentine body covered in silver scales.
Its eyes were black.
Ashbel raised her hands.
"Get back!"
The creature roared.
The river became a wave.
Bella grabbed Nicole.
Seraya shielded us.
I stumbled.
Then something wrapped around my ankle.
I looked down.
A black tendril.
I grabbed it with both hands.
It pulled.
I fell.
"Rohgah!"
Nicole grabbed my shoulders.
Bella grabbed Nicole.
Ashbel controlled the water.
Together, they pulled me free.
The tendril disappeared.
I stared at the river.
"What was that?"
Seraya's face was grim.
"A guardian."
Bella frowned.
"Another one?"
Seraya shook her head.
"No."
She looked toward the island.
"That one serves the Hollow."
We finally reached the shore.
The old house stood in front of us.
I recognized the wooden door.
The window where I had once watched the river.
The tree beside the house.
Everything.
My childhood.
Our childhood.
I reached for the door.
Seraya caught my wrist.
"Don't."
"Why?"
"This house remembers."
I frowned.
"Remembers what?"
"Everything."
The door opened by itself.
Darkness waited inside.
Then a little girl's laughter echoed through the house.
Sofia's.
I stepped inside.
"Sofia?"
The laughter stopped.
A voice answered.
"Brother."
I froze.
Nicole whispered,
"Rohgah…"
I moved deeper into the house.
Pictures appeared on the walls.
Sofia and me as children.
Our mother holding us.
Machir standing beside us.
And another man.
I stopped.
"Who is that?"
Seraya stared at the picture.
Her face went white.
"Your father."
I looked at her.
"My father?"
She nodded.
I had spent years believing Machir was my father.
Now I was staring at a man I had never seen.
A tall man with silver eyes.
His face looked strangely familiar.
"What was his name?"
Seraya hesitated.
"Kael."
I touched the picture.
"Why have I never heard of him?"
"Because he died."
"When?"
"Before you were born."
I looked at her.
"That doesn't make sense."
Seraya's voice trembled.
"He died protecting you."
A loud bang came from upstairs.
We all turned.
Bella drew her sword.
"Someone's here."
We rushed upstairs.
The hallway looked exactly as it had in my memories.
At the end was a bedroom.
The door was open.
Inside stood Sofia.
She was facing the window.
"Sofia!"
She turned.
Her face was pale.
Her eyes were filled with tears.
"Rohgah."
I ran toward her.
She ran toward me.
We collided.
I held her tightly.
"You're okay."
"I thought I lost you."
"I thought you were gone."
She pulled back.
"You came for me."
"Of course."
She touched my face.
"You have no magic."
"I know."
Her eyes filled with tears.
"You shouldn't have come."
"I told you."
I smiled.
"I'm your brother."
She laughed through her tears.
"You're impossible."
"I've been told."
Then Seraya entered.
Sofia immediately ran to her.
"Mom."
Seraya held her.
"I thought I lost you again."
"I won't let that happen."
For a moment, we were simply a family.
Together.
Safe.
Then I noticed something.
Sofia's wrist.
A black symbol was glowing on it.
"What is that?"
She looked down.
"I don't know."
Seraya's expression changed.
"No."
"What?"
She grabbed Sofia's wrist.
"Vaelor marked you."
Sofia's face went pale.
"What does it mean?"
Seraya looked at me.
"It means he can find her anywhere."
My blood ran cold.
"Then we remove it."
Seraya shook her head.
"We can't."
"Why?"
"Because it's not a mark."
She looked toward the floor.
"It's a seal."
Suddenly, the house shook.
The windows shattered.
A voice echoed through the room.
"You found each other again."
Vaelor.
I stepped in front of Sofia.
"Show yourself."
His laughter filled the house.
"You think this is a rescue?"
Seraya grabbed both of us.
"Don't listen."
Vaelor's voice became colder.
"You should ask your mother what happened here eighteen years ago."
I looked at Seraya.
"What happened?"
She said nothing.
Vaelor laughed.
"She never told you."
"Told us what?"
The walls began glowing.
A hidden image appeared.
Seraya.
Machir.
Kael.
Two babies.
And Vaelor.
They were standing around a strange black stone.
I stared.
"What is that?"
Seraya whispered,
"The first heart of the Hollow."
I looked at her.
"You knew about this?"
"Yes."
"Why didn't you tell us?"
"Because I was afraid."
"Of what?"
She looked directly at me.
"Because that stone was created from your father's blood."
The room went silent.
My breath caught.
"My father's blood?"
Seraya nodded.
"And when you were born…"
She began crying.
"The stone chose you."
A cold voice came from behind us.
"Because you were never just the vessel."
We turned.
Vaelor stood in the doorway.
He smiled.
"You are the heir."
I stared at him.
"Heir to what?"
Vaelor's silver eyes gleamed.
"The Hollow."
And behind him, the entire house began sinking into darkness.