The next day, acting normal was the hardest task of my life. Every time I looked at Celia, I saw the spy plotting to deliver us to an ancient evil force—but I had to smile and talk to her as if nothing had happened.
"You're quiet today, Lian," Celia observed during breakfast, her eyes studying me with subtle caution. "Is everything alright?"
"Just thinking about training," I said, taking a sip of tea. "Crusher promised 'surprises' today."
"Crusher's surprises usually mean more suffering," Draken muttered, but I noticed he was tense too—ever since I'd told him what I discovered.
Sure enough, when Crusher arrived, he carried a large sack full of strange objects.
"Today we'll train in combat with impairments!" he announced with terrifying delight. "In real war, you won't always be at your best!"
He pulled out weighted cuffs, metal restraints, and even blindfolds.
"Who wants to fight blindfolded?" he asked, grinning.
"Nobody?" Ash asked cautiously.
"Excellent! Then you'll all try it!" Crusher bellowed.
The next seven hours were hell. We fought with heavy weights strapped to our arms, restraints limiting our movement, sometimes blindfolded, or with one arm tied behind our backs.
But the most unsettling part was that Celia, despite all these handicaps, still fought with astonishing efficiency. As if her body was trained to operate under extreme conditions.
"Celia, where did you learn all this?" Marcus panted after she defeated him in a match—blindfolded and with one arm bound.
"Oh, my father was… strict with training," she said with a forced smile. "He believed challenges make us stronger."
"How strict?" I asked, trying to sound merely curious.
Celia hesitated for a second. "He made me train in harsh conditions. Rain, snow, sometimes even in total darkness."
"Sounds like he was training you to be a professional warrior," Luna noted.
"He… just wanted me strong," Celia said, but her voice sounded unnatural.
After training, I gathered the others—except Celia, who went to shower—and told them what I'd overheard the previous night.
"A thousand years in prison?" Elaina whispered, stunned. "What could possibly be imprisoned for that long?"
"Something incredibly powerful and dangerous," Draken said, worried. "Nothing gets locked away for a thousand years without good reason."
"We need to tell Professor Firestone," Zara said. "This is too big for us to handle alone."
"I agree," I said. "But first, we need more information. If we confront Celia now, we might lose our chance to learn their plans."
"So what do you suggest?" Ash asked.
"We set a trap for her," I said after a pause. "We feed her false information and see how she reacts."
"What kind of information?" Marcus asked.
"We'll tell her we've discovered something important and that we're reporting to Firestone tomorrow," I said. "If she's truly a spy, she'll either try to stop us or warn her allies."
"And if she warns them?" Luna asked, anxious.
"Then we'll be ready," I said. "At least we'll know when they plan to strike."
That night, we executed our plan. We waited until Celia returned from her shower, then began a "casual conversation" loud enough for her to hear.
"I can't believe what we found in the library today," I said, raising my voice just enough. "This information about ancient seals… it's incredible."
"Yeah," Draken agreed, playing along. "Especially that part about strengthening seals. Professor Firestone needs to know this."
"Are you sure we should wait until tomorrow?" Elaina asked. "It feels too important."
"No, tomorrow's better," I said. "We'll gather all the data and present a full report."
From the corner of my eye, I saw Celia standing at the doorway, listening intently.
"Oh, hi Celia!" Zara said, pretending to notice her for the first time. "We were just talking about some boring research project."
"Sounds exciting," Celia said with a smile, but I saw the tension in her eyes. "What did you find?"
"Oh, just some old history," I said with feigned indifference. "Something about ancient sealing magic. Maybe useful for study."
"Fascinating!" Celia said, but her voice was strained. "I love ancient history."
The rest of the evening passed with eerie calm. Celia was quieter than usual, watching us with sharper focus.
At midnight, just as I expected, I heard the soft creak of a door opening. But this time, I didn't follow her—I already knew where she was going and what she'd do.
Instead, I quietly gathered the others and explained the next step.
"If I'm right, Celia will return soon, and something will happen tomorrow," I whispered. "We need to be ready."
"Ready for what?" Ash whispered back.
"For battle," I said simply. "If what I heard is true, they won't wait. They'll try to take us tomorrow."
"And we're just staying here?" Marcus asked.
"We stay and fight," I said firmly. "Because running only delays the confrontation—it won't stop it."
An hour later, Celia returned, trying to slip in silently. But I was awake, watching through a crack in my door.
She didn't go straight to her room. Instead, she stood in the common room for several minutes, as if deep in thought. Then, in one swift motion, she pulled a small object from her pocket and placed it under the dining table.
A listening device? Or something worse?
After she finally entered her room, I crept into the common room and examined what she'd left behind.
It wasn't a bug.
It was far worse.
A small black crystal, pulsing with dark magical energy. And worse—I recognized it from ancient texts: a **"Summoning Crystal."** A device that allows its user to open a direct magical teleportation gate to its exact location.
This meant Celia wasn't just spying anymore. She had planted a way for the enemy to reach us—directly into our home—while we slept.
I picked it up with extreme care and placed it inside a magically sealed containment box. I wouldn't destroy it—not yet. We might need it as evidence. But I made sure it couldn't activate.
Back in my room, I quickly wrote a message:
> *Dear Professor Firestone,
> Urgent matter. Celia Monstar is a spy for the Crimson Shadow Organization. I have proof. They plan to attack us soon. We need immediate help.
> —Lian Shadowwind*
I tied the note to Ember's leg. "Deliver this to Professor Firestone as fast as you can," I whispered. "And be careful—don't let Celia see you."
Ember flew out the window into the night, a tiny spark of hope in a darkness thick with danger.
Now, all I could do was wait, prepare, and hope help would arrive before the enemy did.
But deep in my heart, I knew time was running out.
And the real battle would begin very, very soon.