Life at St. Jude's became a routine. Classes were hard, and Cyrene's power kept acting up. She got another demerit for making the lights go dark during a history lesson. Lysander Veylor watched her constantly, and Malric kept her laughing with his magic tricks. Riven stayed quiet and helpful, always watching their surroundings.
Cyrene went to her locker after a long class on potions. She wanted to grab her bag and find a snack. But when she opened the door, she found something strange.
It was a small, folded piece of old paper. It smelled like burnt sugar. She opened it carefully. Inside, someone had written in beautiful handwriting.
They watch. They listen. The ranking is a lie. Seek the truth before the next moon.
Under the words was a drawing of an alchemy jar, a glass bottle with a long, curved neck.
Cyrene swallowed hard. Lysander's presence was like standing next to a glacier, beautiful but freezing. She couldn't believe he knew about the note before she even had time to process it herself.
"I don't know," Cyrene said, her voice finally finding some strength.
"But Commander Moonshade lied about that boy in the Gauntlet. Maybe 'they' are the people who make students disappear and then tell us we're just seeing things."
Lysander looked at the parchment for a long moment. He didn't agree, but he didn't disagree either. "A dangerous guess," he said quietly.
"At St. Jude's, the 'Ranking' is everything. It decides your future, your power, and your safety. If the Alchemist says it is a lie, they are attacking the very foundation of this school."
He handed the note back to her. His fingers brushed hers, and that strange, humming spark jumped between them again. He pulled his hand away quickly, his eyes flickering with a rare moment of surprise.
"Keep it," he commanded, his voice returning to its icy tone.
"But be careful, Miss Galehart. To 'seek the truth' is often a shortcut to the infirmary, or worse. If you find anything else, you would be wise to tell me before you tell your loud friend Malric."
With another cold shimmer, he vanished as quickly as he had appeared. Cyrene was left alone in the hallway, the heavy silence pressing in on her.
Cyrene felt a chill. Lysander wasn't just a strict student leader; he was investigating the same secrets she was.
"Acting?" Cyrene asked.
"What could I do? I can barely keep my own magic from breaking things."
Lysander looked at her, his eyes sharp.
"Your 'nullification' is not a failure, Miss Galehart. It is a rare type of control. While others create, you can stop. In a place built on secrets and hidden spells, someone who can clear the air is very valuable."
He stepped back into the shadows of the hallway.
"The ranking board is updated tonight at midnight. If the Alchemist is right, the names on that board aren't based on skill. They are based on something else."
He paused, his form beginning to shimmer again.
"If you are truly looking for the truth, do not go alone. But do not be loud."
With those words, he was gone. Cyrene stood by her locker, the old paper clutched in her hand. She needed to make a move. The "next moon" was only a few days away, and the boy from the Gauntlet was still gone.
Cyrene stood still, her heart racing. Lysander Veylor, the boy who lived by the rules, had basically just told her to break them. He didn't take the note. He didn't give her a demerit. Instead, he treated her like a partner in a dangerous secret.
The hallway felt even colder now. Lysander's warning about "the watchers" made her skin crawl. If the ranking was a lie, then everything she was working for might be fake. And if the missing boy was part of that lie, he was in more danger than she thought.
She tucked the note deep into her pocket. She couldn't tell just anyone about this. Malric was fun, but he was loud. Seraphina was kind, but she seemed fragile. Riven, however, was steady. He had seen the same things she had during the Gauntlet.
Cyrene knew she couldn't just go to dinner and forget this. The Alchemist said to find the truth before the next moon, and Lysander mentioned the ranking board. She had to decide her next move before the sun went down.