Silas’s mechanical arm whirred and whined as he clicked a brass dial, releasing a small burst of light. The flash was supposed to blind the oncoming intruder, but it darted aside. The creature crept like a serpent through the bookcases, still facing us. Silas turned and aimed his glow-stone light toward the slinking creature.

  Staring at us through the shelves, the black-furred ferret-like thing contorted its neck in an unsettling way. At the ends of its elongated arms, glinting like polished steel, metal blades grew from its hands.

  It’s the spy. It has to be. Right?!

  Unlike the person who turned into the nine-tailed fox, this person had to be associated with the Cinders. They had the mask to prove it. They were in their level-two blood-infusion form.

  ‘Try using the shelves!’ Fern urged inside my mind. ‘Lose it in the maze! You can’t fight it head-on.’

  And risk damaging the books? Not a chance, I thought, ignoring his plea. We need to neutralize this threat now. It’s our chance to take out the spy now.

  The beast arched its long head out from the bookcases and stumbled back out.

  “Uh-oh, that’s not good,” Silas said.

  From beneath its mask, the beast opened its mouth, and a hair-raising chatter came out. It lowered its arms and turned the bladed palms toward us. Then, like a pursuing shark, it charged toward us.

  Mel moved first. She jumped to the right and hurled two of her knives at it. The intruder swiped a claw upward and batted them aside with ease. The infused raised its hands and swiped around at the bookshelves. Splinters of wood, dust, and torn paper flew into the air. My stomach tightened as I watched centuries-old knowledge fall through the air in tatters.

  But I didn’t have time to think. I had to act.

  I pushed Silas out of the way.

  “Move the shelves out of the way, make some space for us!” I said.

  The ferret’s swipe missed and clawed through more books on a nearby shelf.

  I cringed.

  Damn it, I thought, gripping my sword.

  The cursed blade’s runes flickered, and a strange pain pricked behind my eyes.

  Oh, come on, now, you didn’t act up in the pillar, don’t act up now! I thought, shaking the pain away.

  The beast twisted its body at me. More loud chattering came from its mouth as it lifted its arm. I took a fast deep breath and urged out for that small space in my chest. I raised my sword and synergized my strength. My biceps flexed immediately, and my legs tightened.

  Now.

  I stepped back on my feet, creating a fraction of distance before I cut down and parried the beast’s attack. My blade traveled easily through several of its claws.

  “Hah! Take—”

  The other arm of the infused slammed into my back. I let out a gasp as the wind got knocked out of me.

  I skidded against the ground until I hit a bookshelf, causing more books to fall and more paper to rip. I touched my ribs and recoiled with pain. They were bruised, maybe broken. My knees shook and buckled as I tried to stand up.

  The beast turned toward me and took another step when two throwing knives flew across the room and buried themselves into the chest of the blood-infused. But it didn’t flinch

  “Damn bastard! You all right, Erik?” Mel shouted. She was kneeling on top of a bookshelf and had pulled out more throwing knives. I wondered where she had gotten them from.

  I wiped the spit and snot from my mouth and pushed myself up. “Yeah, just great.”

  Anger flared—at the spy, at the buzzing little pricking from the cursed sword, and at this tragic massacre. Books and scrolls, precious bits of lore that I would never be able to devour because of this damn spy.

  I gritted my teeth and yelled as I ran toward the infused.

  ‘Let’s go for the kill!’ Fern yelled.

  I sprinted, hopping over fallen books and broken pieces of wood. My sword was drawn. The infused chattered again and held out its claws.

  I came in close, slashing low at the intruder’s torso. It leaped back, balancing on spindly hind legs. Then it charged at me again with one raised arm. Claws whistled through the air, but I pulled my head back just in time. The swipe continued onto the stone floor, making a loud scraping noise ring out in the archive.

  Shit! That was loud.

  The intruder hissed, turning its masked gaze toward me. A guttural whisper escaped it: “Twin soul, your death will save thousands. It will save . . . me.” My blood ran cold.

  Silas and Mel closed in, flanking it. Silas ran in and stabbed its leg with his arm blade.

  The creature twisted in pain as two of Mel’s knives dug into the side of its face.

  “Hah! Take that,” she said, clenching her fist.

  I lifted my sword, and it hummed, runes brightening. I fought the dizziness and pain away, refusing to yield to its curse. I stood up and yelled out to the beast, getting its attention focused back on me. Its head turned away from my friends. I ran toward the center of the archive, where no more books were at risk of being shredded.

  The beast followed, ignoring more knives from Mel.

  I felt it close on my heel, but I was almost in a spot where I could unleash my full synergy. But, in the middle of the room, there was a statue of a man reading, and above the statue stood a hooded stranger. The infused behind me froze, skidding to a halt. I slowed my run and looked between the hooded figure and the infused behind me. A new tension charged the air. The beast hissed softly, staring at the new arrival in the middle of the room.

  A sudden emerald flash flared from the figure on the statue. A small breeze blew behind us, rustling the scattered papers and books on the shelves like leaves in the fall. The infused screeched and flexed its claws. I whirled, sword at the ready, only to see the hooded person with glowing green eyes gracefully jump down from the statue and stand in front of me. He lowered his hood, and a frustratingly familiar cocky smirk flashed at me. He held a small, rune-etched stone in one hand, the key to access the secret archives. In the other hand, he held a small, curved dagger.

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  “Well, well, well. The archives certainly are lively tonight, aren’t they?” Waelid drawled, voice low and mocking.

  With a snarling hiss, the spy wasted no time. It sprang backward and knocked Mel aside.

  “Shit!” she said, rubbing the back of her head.

  The infused scrambled and climbed up the back wall and vanished through a narrow ventilation shaft near the ceiling. Metal scraped as the creature’s claws echoed away, leaving us all standing amid scattered pages and half-toppled lanterns.

  Dust swirled, and I coughed. Silas and Mel ran up to me, weapons lowered but still wary. Waelid stepped forward, crossing his arms over his chest.

  “What, exactly, are you three doing here?” His voice held a sharp note of accusation. “Breaking into the restricted archives? Care to explain?”

  Before I could stumble through a response, distant shouts drifted down the corridors—the librarian, Mrs. Brindle, fiercely barking, and then Hopsander’s booming voice overpowering hers. Likely trying to warn us. We couldn’t stay. The tension in my gut twisted tighter.

  Waelid didn’t wait for an answer. He jerked his head toward the doorway. “We have to move. Now. I won’t get caught with my own recruits breaking the second most important rule in the academy, and I doubt you want your clever little scheme exposed.”

  We traded hurried glances. As much as I distrusted Waelid, he offered an immediate escape route. He slipped into the hallway, quiet and deliberate, and we followed. We kept close as he guided us through cramped side corridors and unlit passages. Every footstep felt too loud in my ears, every distant shout felt too close.

  We ran out the way we came and sprinted through the halls, running as lightly as we could back to the dorm, and followed Waelid inside.

  We navigated quietly through House Anu and climbed a narrow spiral staircase that led to a secluded watchtower branching off the building. The night air seeped through a small window that sat at the top of the stairs, cooling the sweat on my brow. Waelid unlocked and opened the only door on this floor and we stumbled inside—a single-occupant room, sparse and quiet.

  He closed the door and turned to face us, raising a brow. “Now,” he said, deadly serious, “tell me exactly what you’re doing.”

  Waelid’s room was starker than I’d have guessed: A single cot was shoved into the corner, a narrow table bearing a sharpening stone and a neatly folded shirt was in the middle of the room, and a handful of weapons were mounted on the walls. A narrow window offered a view of the academy’s sprawling grounds, the moonlight cutting pale teal beams across the floor. The space felt less like a dorm and more like a soldier’s watch post.

  Waelid leaned against his door, arms folded and nearly blocking the room’s limited light. His eyes glinted with suspicion as they moved between the three of us.

  “All right,” he said. “Let’s hear it. What were you doing down there? What did you find? And why did you break the rules?”

  Silas shifted uneasily, his mechanical arm letting out a faint whir as he adjusted its position. Mel remained silent, watching Waelid like a coiled serpent, ready to strike. She looked at me and then back at Waelid as if to say, Just say the word.

  I straightened. “Why would you care about rules?”

  “I care about the academy, I care about protecting this place for voidbloods to train and seek revolution. I don’t care what happens to anyone who stands in my way or threatens that.”

  So he’s just extremely dedicated to the greater cause? That’s something I can work with.

  ‘Didn’t you hear him? He doesn’t care how he achieves his goals. He is a THREAT, Erik. Why won’t you listen to me?’ Fern grumbled.

  You’ll see.

  I took a deep breath. “Look, Waelid,” I said with bitterness. “We weren’t stealing anything to harm the academy. It’s the opposite, kind of. You remember when you spied on me in the library the other day?”

  “I did not spy. I was on my way to visit the archives like I do every night. I then caught sight of you, of all people, reading a letter.”

  “Regardless. That letter was from my brother, like I told you. He told me something. There’s a spy in the academy, and we think they’re connected to the monarchy.”

  “Your brother . . .” Waelid’s eyes narrowed, his voice dropping to a dangerous growl. “And who is your brother, exactly?”

  I hesitated. This was the tightrope I’d dreaded walking. “His name is Lotrick. He’s a student at the magical academy in the capital, Khalo. And he is learning from the magelord himself.”

  “The magelord?!” Waelid’s voice spiked with venom. His hands dropped to his sides, fists clenched. “You’re telling me your brother is learning from THE Magelord Starbringer?”

  Before I could answer, Waelid lunged. His speed caught me off guard, and his forearm slammed into my collarbone, slamming me back against the wall. The cursed sword clattered to the ground.

  “Waelid!” Silas shouted, darting forward. His arm shot out and gears whizzed, tightening his grip on Waelid’s, prying him loose. Mel hopped on Waelid’s back and held a knife up against the chapter master’s throat. Waelid froze and let off some pressure.

  “Drop your knife, recruit. I am backing off, but don’t mistake my submission for weakness. I can crush your windpipe with a whistle,” Waelid said. He turned toward me. “So what, you’re working for them now? A dog of the magebloods. What, did your brother send you here to report back on our weaknesses? Give me one reason I shouldn’t kill you right now.”

  “I’m not!” I shouted. “Listen, damn it! Just calm down. One, you saw we were the ones being attacked, right? So, obviously, someone here has a hidden agenda to attack me. Two, I hate the magebloods just as much as you do! You think they treated me well?”

  Waelid stilled, his chest heaving, but his glare burned. Mel hadn’t dropped her knife, and Silas had his fists clenched, ready to restrain him again if needed.

  I rubbed my chest. “I’m not lying. But I am a twin soul. That’s why they’re after me. The spy knows what I am, and they want me dead. I’m a problem for their plans or something. My brother warned me about them, saying there was a spy, but he didn’t know everything either. I’m trying to find the truth.”

  Waelid’s expression shifted, his anger cooling into something sharper, more calculating. “They just focused on you. Don’t be so egotistical,” he said.

  That’s rich coming from you, I thought.

  “So, you’re . . . a twin soul?” he said, raising his eyebrow. “Prove it.”

  “Huh? How am I supposed to prove it?”

  “Well, how am I supposed to believe you? Twin souls are supposed to be almost mythical beings. Powerful, unstable, and experimental. They are supposed to be magebloods only too.”

  “Well, I’m the first voidblood one.” I shrugged.

  Waelid stared at me for a long moment, then scoffed. “Let’s just say you are. You think this . . . spy, the thing I made scurry like a rat, is trying to kill you because you are one? Why go to the archives, then, where it’s secluded and the perfect place to be ambushed?”

  I rolled my eyes. “Because I needed to find out information. Information that I could only get there. Records so we can find out who this spy is. When we do, we can stop the attempts on my life and our classmates’ lives.”

  “I see, I see.” He grinned, then looked at the bag of scrolls and books we took. “If it’s tracking down a spy who works for the magebloods . . . then I’m in.”

  “Huh? You’re . . . what?” Silas said.

  “Why do you care so much about the spy?” Mel asked warily.

  Waelid’s jaw tightened, and for the first time, his eyes darkened with something deeper than anger. “Because of the sole fact that they’re working for the magebloods. And because of what those bastards did.”

  He stepped to the window, staring out at the moonlit grounds. His voice turned bitter, heavy with hate. “You want to know why I reacted the way I did just now? Five years ago, Noah Starbringer appeared in Khalo. He was the pride of the king. He just . . . appeared out of nowhere and helped the monarchy take over the rest of Stylos. He was a miracle. A mageblood who could use all the elements. The king claimed the stars themselves bent to his will. But the truth is, he is evil incarnate. The magelord and his private army quelled every semblance of dissent throughout Stylos. Tens of thousands died at their . . . crusade.

  “To keep it short, I have a blood feud with the king and the magelord. Do you see my problem? If your brother remains loyal to Magelord Starbringer, he is my enemy. If that day comes, will you stay loyal to your brother? Or Ash?”

  His bitter words hung in the air. I felt Fern’s worry rise within me and I took a deep breath.

  “I am my own man. A voidblood twin soul. I want to get power to protect those close to me and keep my loved ones safe. As long as I can do that, I will do what needs to be done.”

  Waelid looked over his shoulder at me and nodded.

  “So, you want to join us because it helps you get back at the magebloods?” Silas asked carefully.

  Waelid turned back, his usual smirk returning, though it didn’t reach his eyes. “Because if you’re going to topple a kingdom, you don’t start at the throne. You start with the cracks in its stone walls.”

  He jabbed a finger at me. “I don’t fully trust you. I am joining you partly for that reason. To make sure you aren’t lying to me. Okay? If I find you are, I will cut you down that instant. We catch this spy, take their secrets, and then I get to deal with them how I like. Deal?”

  I hesitated before reaching out my hand. “Deal.”

  The uneasy truce felt as fragile as glass.

  ‘Erik . . . I think you made a big mistake letting him in.’

  Sometimes Fern, in life, you have to make a deal with a devil.