ARIA POV
Lord Silas Everhart stands in the doorway like death itself, and I know with absolute certainty that I'm about to die.
"Caspian," his voice is ice and fury. "Step away from the Siphon. Now."
Caspian freezes beside me. I can feel the war happening inside him—loyalty to his father versus everything we just talked about. Every muscle in his body is tense, his Celestial magic flickering like a dying star.
"Father, let me explain—"
"There's nothing to explain." Lord Silas moves into the library, and the four Council guards spread out behind him, blocking every exit. "That creature attacked Professor Thorne. She's dangerous and needs to be contained."
"She was defending herself!" Luna protests. "Your people attacked first!"
Lord Silas's eyes slide to Luna, and something predatory flashes in his expression. "Ah, Luna Ashford. The cursed oracle. How convenient that you're here too. Saves me the trouble of finding you later."
My blood turns to ice. He just admitted it. He's here for both of us—two of his intended victims.
Ezra's shadow magic surges, wrapping around Luna and me protectively. "You're not taking them anywhere, Everhart."
"Ezra Wraith. Sarah Chen's brother." Lord Silas actually smiles, and it's the most terrifying thing I've ever seen. "Still investigating your sister's unfortunate accident? Let it go, boy. Some questions are better left unanswered."
"You killed her." Ezra's voice shakes with rage. "You murdered my sister for her air magic, and now you're coming for the rest of us."
"Such wild accusations." Lord Silas gestures to his guards. "Take the Siphon and the oracle. Kill anyone who resists."
The guards move forward, magic crackling in their hands.
And Caspian steps in front of me.
"No." His voice rings out clear and strong. "I won't let you hurt her."
The entire library goes silent. Lord Silas stares at his son like he's never seen him before.
"What did you say?"
"I said no." Caspian's hands shake, but he doesn't back down. "Aria's right. You're dying from a failed ritual. You've been killing students to fuel another attempt. And I won't help you murder innocent people, even if it means losing you."
For a moment, Lord Silas just looks broken. Old and sick and heartbroken.
Then his face hardens into something monstrous.
"Everything I've done has been for you!" he roars. "To build you a future! To make you powerful! And you betray me for some Half-blood trash and a monster?"
"They're not monsters. You are." Caspian's voice cracks. "And I'm done being your perfect son."
Lord Silas raises his hand, and Celestial magic—the same kind as Caspian's—explodes toward us with killing force.
Caspian throws up a shield, but his father's magic is stronger, more experienced. The shield cracks. We're all about to die.
Then I do something insane.
I grab Caspian's arm and activate my Siphon ability.
His Celestial magic floods into me—bright and pure and overwhelming. But I don't just take it. I amplify it, mixing it with my own desperate will to survive, and throw it back at Lord Silas with everything I have.
The blast of combined power hits Lord Silas like a truck. He flies backward into his own guards, and they all crash to the ground.
"RUN!" Ezra screams.
We run.
Ezra's shadow magic wraps around all four of us, pulling us through darkness itself. The world blurs and twists, and suddenly we're outside the library, racing through empty hallways while alarms scream behind us.
"Where are we going?" I gasp, my legs burning.
"East Tower!" Luna shouts. "Felix is there! We need him now!"
We burst into the East Tower laboratory, where a boy with dark hair and clever brown eyes looks up from his work in surprise.
"What the—" Felix Zhao starts.
"No time!" Ezra slams the door and starts barricading it with shadow magic. "Felix, you're either with us or dead. Choose fast."
"What are you talking about?"
"Council members are performing ritual murders," I say quickly. "They've killed three students already. Luna and I are the next targets. We need your help to stop them."
Felix stares at us like we're insane. "Why would I risk my life for you? I don't even know you people!"
"Because they'll come for you eventually too," Caspian says, breathing hard. "The ritual needs five different magical types. Fire, air, water—those victims are already dead. Next they need transmutation and oracle magic. That's you and Luna."
Felix's face goes white. "You're serious."
"Deadly serious." Luna meets his eyes. "I'm an oracle, Felix. I've seen your death. In exactly two weeks, Council guards drag you from this very room. You beg them to spare your family. They kill you anyway and leave your parents to the Crimson Syndicate."
"No." Felix shakes his head frantically. "No, that's not—that can't—"
"But it doesn't have to happen," I interrupt. "Help us break into the Forbidden Archive. Help us find proof of what the Council is doing. We expose them, save ourselves, and you get leverage to save your family from the Syndicate."
"This is insane. This is suicide."
"It's survival," Ezra says grimly. "And it's your only chance."
The laboratory door shudders as something massive slams into it. Lord Silas's voice echoes through: "Give me the Siphon and the oracle, and I'll let the rest of you live!"
Felix looks at the door, then at us, then at the magical formulas scattered across his desk—the work of a boy desperately trying to save his family through legitimate means that will never be enough.
"Fine." He grabs his bag. "I'm in. But if we die, I'm haunting all of you."
"Deal," I say.
The door explodes inward.
Lord Silas stands in the smoking entrance, his face twisted with rage and desperation. Blood drips from his mouth—he's pushing his dying body too hard, and it's destroying him.
"Caspian," he says, and his voice is almost pleading now. "Please. I'm your father. I'm dying. Just give me the Siphon, and we can fix everything. We can be a family again."
Caspian's hand finds mine, squeezing tight.
"We were never a family," he says quietly. "You made sure of that."
Lord Silas's face crumples. Then it hardens into pure hatred.
"Then you'll die with them."
He raises both hands, gathering magic that makes the air itself scream.
Luna suddenly gasps, her eyes rolling back white. "The window! Everyone to the window NOW!"
We don't question. We run.
Luna points at the massive window overlooking the forest below. "Jump!"
"We're four stories up!" Felix shouts.
"Trust me!" Luna screams.
Lord Silas's death spell launches toward us.
We jump.
Glass shatters around us as we fall through open air. I'm screaming. Felix is screaming. We're all going to die—
Then shadow magic wraps around us like a net, and we're not falling anymore. We're gliding, Ezra's power carrying us across the forest toward the old chapel ruins.
We land hard but alive in the middle of the forbidden catacombs.
"Everyone okay?" Caspian asks, helping me up.
"Define okay," Felix mutters, but he's standing.
Luna points at a doorway ahead, her nose bleeding from the vision. "The Forbidden Archive entrance is through there. We can reach it from these tunnels."
"Now?" I ask. "We're breaking in NOW?"
"We don't have a choice anymore," Ezra says grimly. "Silas knows we're onto him. He'll hunt us down within hours. Our only chance is to find evidence and expose him before he kills us all."
Caspian looks back toward the Academy, where his father is probably organizing a manhunt.
"No going back now," he whispers.
"Never was," I say, taking his hand again.
We head into the darkness, five desperate teenagers with no plan except to survive the night.
And that's when we hear it.
A voice, coming from deep in the catacombs. Ancient and terrifying, speaking words in a language that makes my bones ache:
"Five have come. Five who seek truth. Five who will bind themselves to me, or five who will die trying. Come, children. Come and face your destiny."
The Codex Animarum is calling us.
And it sounds hungry.