The common room buzzed with low murmurs and anxious pacing. Night had fallen on Blackmoor Academy, and yet sleep was the last thing on anyone's mind.
Stephen lounged upside-down on the couch, holding the piece of Richard's journal to the ceiling light like he was reading it with divine revelation. "Okay, this part says something about… a vault? Sealed magic? Very ominous. I love it."
Daemon snatched it from him, flipping it right-side-up. "It's half-burned. The rest is unreadable."
Raphael leaned against the wall, arms crossed, staring at the black feather they'd found. "This isn't from a raven. It feels... infused. Dark."
Hope sat at the round table, fingers drumming anxiously. London stood at her side, his eyes scanning the torn parchment he and Hope had brought up from the underground archives.
"This isn't just a journal," London said finally. "It's a map."
Hope perked up. "A map to what?"
"To something Richard didn't want found."
Silence fell for a beat too long.
"Great," Jessa muttered. "Our dad's missing, leaving creepy breadcrumbs, and now we're following a cursed map."
Celeste sat quietly nearby, her arms wrapped around her knees. The voice from that night still haunted her:
> "You don't belong with them, Celeste. They laugh at you. Your father hides everything from you. We could show you more..."
She hadn't said a word about it. Not even to Jessa.
Not yet.
---
Hope & London – In the Library
The two of them spread the pages from the journal across a table, whispering softly under the flickering candlelight.
Hope tapped a series of drawn runes. "These weren't here when I saw the journal last."
"Maybe Richard added them recently," London said, his tone curious, thoughtful. "They're coordinates. And look—these numbers align with the old vault chamber on the third sublevel."
"The one under the abandoned theatre hall?"
London nodded.
Hope looked up at him. "Why didn't he tell us?"
"Because," London whispered, stepping a little closer, "he was hiding something powerful."
Hope's eyes locked on his. The flickering candlelight danced in his pupils. "And we're not going to stop, are we?"
"Not until we find him."
They were close. Closer than they had ever been. Hope's breath caught as her gaze drifted from his eyes to his lips.
London noticed. His heartbeat quickened.
He leaned in, just a little—
Then—
SLAM.
The library door burst open. Stephen strolled in, smirking with two books in hand. "I come bearing knowledge and mild chaos."
Hope immediately turned away, coughing into her sleeve. London rubbed the back of his neck. "Perfect timing, really."
"Was it?" Stephen winked. "I wasn't trying to interrupt anything… intimate."
"Yes, you were," Daemon said from behind him. "You always are."
---
Celeste – Inner Conflict
Back in her dorm room, Celeste sat alone on her bed, staring at her reflection in the mirror. The voice had returned in her sleep—dark and coaxing.
> "They're hiding the truth from you, Celeste. You deserve to know what you are."
She clenched her fists. "I'm not one of you. I'm not like that."
> "Aren't you? Power calls to power. And your father… he was never who he claimed to be."
Tears pricked her eyes. "Stop…"
The mirror fogged as if something beyond it breathed.
She scrambled back, trembling.
The temptation to tell someone warred with the fear of being distrusted.
Jessa would never forgive her. Hope might not believe her.
And Daemon... Celeste's stomach twisted. She couldn't bear the thought of him looking at her like she was weak.
She pressed a hand over her mouth, silencing her sob.
---
Back with the Group – A New Decision
The next morning, the group reconvened at the base of the old theatre.
"This is where the map leads," Hope said.
"It's sealed with runes," Daemon muttered, brushing his fingers along the stone door beneath the old stage.
"Then we unseal it," Raphael said firmly.
"Agreed," Jessa said. "Let's get Richard back."
Stephen raised an eyebrow. "You're all very confident we won't unleash a demon."
Hope smiled faintly. "We probably will."
"And I'm in," Stephen said brightly. "Because that sounds like fun."
London drew closer to Hope. "Let's go, then."
As the group began working on unlocking the door, Celeste stood back, chewing her lip.
If they found what Richard was hiding…
Would they still trust her when the truth about her came out?
She didn't know.
But she followed anyway.