For a long moment the darkness refused to move.
Then the power returned. The lights flickered once. Twice.
And suddenly the room was flooded with pale white light.
Theo blinked hard as his eyes adjusted. The brightness stabbed into them after an hour of blindness.
He turned instinctively toward the floor.
What he saw first clenched his heart.
Brian lay there.
His body twisted slightly to one side, his arms stretched awkwardly across the ground. Blood had spread beneath him in a dark pool that glistened under the overhead lights.
For a second Theo simply stared.
Then the air rushed out of his lungs.
"Brian," he breathed.
He rushed forward and dropped to his knees beside him. His hands hovered above the body for a moment before finally touching his shoulder.
The skin felt wrong.
Too cold.
"Brian!" Theo called, louder now.
He turned him slightly.
Brian's head rolled loosely.
Theo pressed his fingers against the side of Brian's neck.
Nothing.
He tried again, pressing harder this time.
Still nothing.
His chest tightened.
Brian's heart had stopped beating.
"Brian!" Theo shouted again, shaking the body as if the force might pull him back to life.
But Brian remained still.
Theo's shoulders slowly slumped.
He released the body and sat back on the floor.
"They murdered him," he muttered.
Then the anger rose.
It rushed through his veins like fire.
"They murdered him! Those bastards!" he screamed.
The boys in the room stood frozen. No one stepped forward. No one spoke.
Theo leaned forward again and slid his arms under Brian's body.
The weight was heavy.
Dead weight.
He lifted him slowly, struggling to balance the limp body against his chest.
Blood soaked through his uniform as he stood.
The room remained silent as he walked toward the door.
When Theo stepped into the hallway, the first group of students saw him immediately.
They froze.
The corridor fell quiet.
Theo walked past them without stopping.
Brian's arm hung loosely at his side, dripping blood onto the floor with each step.
Students stared.
No one moved.
Whispers began spreading from mouth to mouth.
"The king is dead."
"The king is dead."
The words moved down the corridor like wind.
Students leaned out from their doors.
Others stepped closer to see.
Some of Brian's right hand men pushed through the crowd, their faces pale.
One of them cursed under his breath.
But the reactions were not the same everywhere.
Among the girls, something different happened.
One girl covered her mouth.
Then she laughed.
Another jumped up suddenly.
"He's dead!"
A small group gathered around her.
Their whispers turned into excited murmurs.
Some clapped their hands.
Others hugged each other.
Brian's death felt like the lifting of a weight they had been carrying on their backs for weeks.
But among the boys the mood was different.
Mixed.
Uneasy.
One boy crossed his arms and shook his head.
"He deserved it," he said quietly.
A few nodded.
But Brandom, standing beside him, didn't look convinced.
"Maybe," he said slowly.
His eyes followed Theo as he disappeared down the hallway.
"But we do not know who did this yet."
The others looked at him.
Brandom continued.
"Whether or not it will end with him," he added quietly, "or he will come for us all."
No one responded.
The words lingered in the air long after Theo had vanished around the corner.
Inside Newton's room the atmosphere was calm.
Almost unnaturally calm.
Newton lay on his bed with his hands folded behind his head.
Samuel lay on the opposite bed.
Their swords rested neatly beside the wall.
Clean.
Perfectly placed.
There was no blood on them.
No sign that they had been used at all.
Neither of them spoke.
Neither of them mentioned what had happened.
Samuel turned once on his side, pulling the blanket slightly over his shoulder.
Newton stared at the ceiling.
After a while Samuel's breathing slowed.
Sleep came quickly.
Newton closed his eyes soon after.
The room fell silent.
Morning arrived.
The restaurant buzzed with tension.
Students filled the tables earlier than usual. No one seemed interested in eating.
They were waiting.
Whispers filled the room.
"Did you hear?"
"They stabbed him."
"In the dark."
"No one saw anything."
Theo entered the restaurant suddenly.
The door slammed against the wall as he pushed it open.
Conversation died instantly.
He walked to the center of the room and stopped.
His face looked harder than usual.
His eyes scanned every table.
Then he spoke.
"As you all know," he began, his voice loud and steady, "the king was murdered yesterday during the walking in the dark hour."
The words settled over the room like a heavy blanket.
Theo paused.
His eyes moved slowly across the crowd.
"It is obvious," he continued, "that one of us did it."
The silence thickened.
Students avoided his gaze.
Theo clenched his jaw slightly.
"But I promise you," he said, his voice dropping lower now, "I am going to fish that person out."
His eyes hardened.
"And kill him or her."
No one spoke.
No one moved.
Then a chair scraped across the floor.
William stood up.
He looked around the room before speaking.
"King Brian is dead," he said.
The statement hung in the air for a moment.
"And we need a new king."
He turned toward Theo.
"Who better is to lead us more than Theo?"
William paused.
Then he raised his hand high into the air.
"Long live king Theo!"
For a moment the room remained uncertain.
Then one of the boys repeated it.
"Long live king Theo."
Another joined.
"Long live king Theo!"
Soon the chant spread across the room.
Voices rose louder and louder.
"Long live king Theo!"
"Long live king Theo!"
The sound echoed against the walls of the restaurant.
Theo stood there in the center of the room, watching them.
Slowly, a small smile formed on his face.
The crown had changed heads once again.
And as the reign of Theo began, one thing became clear to everyone watching him.
Theo cared about only one thing now.
Finding the mysterious killer who had murdered the last king.