“Davis!” Scarlet gasped, launching into his arms.
“And me, Thorne,” added the second figure, pulling down her hood to reveal a cascade of red hair and pale skin.
Scarlet recoiled, throwing a hand between them. “No. No fucking way. You are not coming with us.”
Davis held up his hands. “I tried, Scar. She wouldn’t leave me alone. Yell at us later—we’ve got to move. Guards sweep these halls all night. How did you even manage to sneak in?”
“Later,” Rhodes said sharply, and we broke into a sprint once more.
We moved quickly but quietly through the stone corridors, our steps sharp and calculated as we navigated the twisting halls. I had snuck into Mageia more times than I could count and had the layout memorized, but now we were moving through parts of the castle I’d never seen. Rhodes ran ahead, and his leather pack looked fuller than before we climbed in, rattling with every step. Without pausing, he swung it off his back and cradled it in one arm, adjusting his grip as the contents clinked and shifted.
The eight of us raced down a twisting stairwell when Scarlet suddenly skidded to a stop.
“Wait. Wait, wait, wait!” She threw up her hands, chest heaving as she turned to me, eyes sharp. “I know what the Key is.” Her gaze locked on mine. “Shift through themarekem. Find what Professor Hogboom had clenched in his fist the last time I saw him alive.”
I hesitated as murmurs rose around us. Closing my eyes, I curled my fists and anchored myself in themarekem.
I focused on Scarlet’s thoughts of Hogboom—before her memories twisted into fear after he was pronounced murdered. I stepped further back until I found myself in an auditorium-like classroom. But the professor didn’t have anything in his grasp, so I pushed myself forward just a little more.
I landedin the same classroom, but at a different time. I studied my sister, who looked the same but different in so many ways from the earlier memory. Before, she’d slouched low in her seat, arms crossed like armor, eyes distant—barely present. Her expression was dull, her eyes lifeless. She seemed like she was just managing to make it through each day alive.
But now, in this newer memory, there was more light in her. She sat upright in her chair, focused—locked in on who I assumed was Professor Hogboom standing behind me. Her shoulders no longer sagged beneath the weight of uncertainty. They were squared with quiet strength, like she was finally claiming that she belonged here.
Delaney Salvitto lounged beside her, twirling a loose curl, whispering something to the cadet on her other side, her smile lazy and amused.
I turned around to find Professor Hogboom leaning over a wooden podium, his expression somber as his gaze swept across the cadets. My eyes dropped to the surface of the podium—an aged, leather-bound tome rested beneath his hands, dust dancing in the air around it. I moved closer, uncertain how long this memory would hold, and studied the book. It was identical to the one that had lit up with the Mareki’s presence in the tomb—blank cover, weathered edges, the same hue and age as the tome Scarlet had pulled from her pack. I reached out, fingers brushing the air above its surface, I went to lift the cover—when suddenly, Hogboom’s eyes snapped to mine and the memory version of his gaze burned through me.
A jolt tore me from themarekem. I gasped, chest heaving, my heart thundering louder than when we had been sprinting throughthe halls. Beads of sweat slid down my temples, and I quickly wiped them away with the sleeve of my leather jacket.
The whispers around me fell silent, every pair of eyes fixed on me, waiting. Scarlet gripped the strap of her pack tighter, her knuckles white. I lowered my chin, the truth sitting heavy on my tongue.
“It’s a book,” I said, certain.
“We have to find it,” Scarlet replied without hesitation. “This may be our only chance.”
“What book?” Rhodes asked.
“Professor Hogboom was late the last time I saw him,” Scarlet said between breaths. “Something was off. Captain Thorne stormed in, interrupted his lecture, whispered something in his ear—and whatever it was, it was urgent enough for Hogboom to dismiss class early. But that day, he had an old-looking tome in his hands. It looked like this”—she yanked the book from her pack and flipped it open—“only thicker. Same leather cover.”
“It’s blank?” Nash squinted.
Confused, I glanced at him, then leaned over Scarlet’s shoulder, scanning pages filled with dense handwriting. “What do you mean?”
Nash folded his arms. “The pages. They’re empty. Wylder, take a look.”
Rhodes took the tome from Scarlet and flipped through it slowly. He frowned, shook his head, and passed it down the line. One by one, each of them confirmed the same thing.
Blank.
Scarlet and I locked eyes.
She stepped forward, gaze firm as it swept the group. “That confirms it. We can explain later, but that book is another missing piece of the Mareki’s Key. We need it.”
Nash dragged a hand through his unruly brown hair and let out a sharp sigh. “There’s no way we’re sneaking into his quarters. Our best shot is his office… but it’s risky. If we get caught—”
“Then we won’t get caught,” I snapped.
Davis took the lead, climbing the stairs two at a time. “Come on,” he called over his shoulder. “We’ve got to move fast.”
