Gaius stood on the Academy balcony, His hands gripped the railing, Morgan's badge burning in his pocket, its faint thrum a constant reminder of his guilt.
Darel approached, his steps heavy.
"You're here," Gaius said, his voice low.
"Why did you call me?" Darel asked, his tone sharp.
"How have you been?" Gaius asked, his voice softening.
"Surviving," Darel replied.
"What of Kal? Anything new?" Gaius asked.
"No," Darel replied, his tone curt."What did you want to talk about?"
There was a moment of silence between them.
"Did I ever tell you this? That meeting where we were going to choose a new prefect to fill Morgan's space— You know the final decision was left to me, none of you knew the name I selected," Gaius said.
"It was announced later. You picked Elara," Darel said, his voice tight.
" Know it was announced but Elara was not the person I selected. Talus changed that," Gaius explained, his voice low.
"What?" Darel exclaimed, shock widening his eyes.
"But I chose to stay silent about it and watch," Gaius said, his voice strained, his chest tight with the shame of his inaction.
"Bullshit," Darel spat, his anger flaring.
"That's not all. A week before you were debadged, Talus told me to tell you to mind your own business.
After Morgan was killed, Talus showed no concern. He even stated he saw Morgan's death coming soon but didn't know when.
I heard him and Elara discussing something one time. I pretended like I didn't hear anything, but I actually did," Gaius explained.
"What were they saying?" Darel asked, leaning closer, his voice urgent.
"What they were saying isn't really important to know, but I have something to give you."
Gaius brought out a book and handed it to Darel.
"Morgan realized that Elara was not a friend but a spy sent by Talus to watch him. So he played smarter," Gaius continued, his voice low, urgency rising.
"What's this book about?" Darel asked, his voice tense, fingers gripping the journal tightly.
"This is the Alderman's Journal , Morgan's last discovery. He didn't want Elara to find it, so he gave it to me to keep," Gaius said, his voice thick with grief.
"I always knew that Elara was a bitch," Darel cursed, his voice raw with anger.
"Why are you giving me the journal then?" Darel asked, his eyes narrowing, with determination.
"You're the one seeking revenge. This book has information that could help you," Gaius explained, his voice firm but laced with fear.
"Did I forget to mention? Talus and Elara are after that journal. That was what I heard from their discussion," Gaius said, his tone urgent.
"Why do they need the journal? Do you have any idea?" Darel asked.
"I do, but once you know, you too will be shocked," Gaius said, his voice dropping to a whisper.
"I intended to keep the journal longer, but it was only a matter of time till Talus found me with it," Gaius explained.
"Protect this journal like you'd protect your life. If Talus finds it, it's game over," Gaius warned, his voice grave, his eyes locking onto Darel's with desperate intensity.
Darel gripped the journal, tighter.
"Morgan also spoke about a boy with scars. He said he was in the Academy currently, the master key to winning against Talus."
"Could it be Asher?" Darel asked, a spark of realization igniting.
"Exactly, that was the name Morgan mentioned. Do you know him?" Gaius asked, his voice urgent, hope flickering in his chest.
"Not really. He's a friend of Lira, the first-year girl," Darel replied.
"I believe you know what to do next, from here" Gaius said, his voice softening, relief and fear mingling as he unburdened himself.
"Thanks for all this information," Darel said, his voice gruff but grateful.
"Don't thank me, your the one doing all the work, also, Is it true you have a crush on Elara? A friend of mine told me," Gaius asked, a teasing glint in his eyes, trying to lighten the mood.
"No I don't! Alice told you that, didn't she?," Darel snapped, a spark of fury flaring, his cheeks flushing with embarrassment.
Gaius laughed, a rare sound that warmed the air.
"You look just like him when you're pissed," Gaius said, smiling, Morgan's face vivid in his mind.
There was a brief pause, the weight of loss settling between them.
"If he was here, where do you think he'd be by now?" Darel asked, his voice soft, a pang of grief tightening his throat.
"Probably discovering things. He could've discovered a new secret passage in the toilets by now," Gaius said, laughing, his eyes bright with the memory of Morgan's reckless curiosity.
"Very true," Darel said, smiling, his heart aching with the warmth of shared memories.
"Then he'd run to me later in the night, saying, 'I found a new passage that leads to the toilet. Who the hell creates a passage to the toilet? But it could be a good escape route,'" Gaius said, smiling, his voice catching as Morgan's voice echoed in his mind.
"I remember how he forced me to do my assignments and update my notes back in my second year, and I'd be like, what the hell," Darel said, grinning, his chest tight with nostalgia.
They shared a moment of laughter, the sound bittersweet, a fleeting connection to Morgan.
"I know you miss him," Darel said, resting on the balcony, his voice soft, his eyes tracing the sky.
"More than anything," Gaius accepted, his soft grin fading.
"I miss him too," Darel added, grinning.
"Sometimes, I wish I was the one who died instead of him," Gaius continued, his voice barely a whisper, guilt choking him.
"If there's anything he wants now, it's for us to avenge him and stop whatever shit is about to happen," Darel affirmed, a fire of determination igniting in his chest.
"I'm going to end Kal, the next time we meet, now I know what's coming, at least," Darel said, his tone resolute, his fists clenching with purpose.
"Has Lira said anything to you from that night?" Gaius asked, his voice gentle.
"Not yet, she's still trying to forget that night. She's recovering, and I don't want to push her. I'll wait until she's ready," Darel said, his voice steady, a rare tenderness breaking through.
"Since when did you learn to be this patient and caring?" Gaius teased.
"I realized," Darel said, a small smile tugging at his lips, his heart lighter for a moment.
"It's better this way," Gaius said, his grin warm, approving.
"Get out," Darel shoving Gaius playfully, a spark of camaraderie easing his tension.
"I guess I have to be going now," Gaius said, leaving. "I'll see you later."
"Sure, till whenever," Darel teased.
Gaius left the balcony, leaving Darel alone, staring at the sky, the journal's weight anchoring his resolve.
Theo, Rowan, and Nico were in Rowan's dorm, the air thick with urgency.
Rowan rummaged through Asher's bag.
"I found it," Rowan called, his voice sharp, pulling out a folded note.
"What does it say?" Theo asked.
"'Meet me in the library, Elara,'" Rowan read, his voice faltering, dread coiling in his gut at Elara's name.
"Asher did mention anyhing about Elara wanting to talk with him," Theo recalled.
"She must have something to do with his disappearance," Nico concluded.
"We can't just confront her and accuse her of taking Asher. She's a prefect," Theo cautioned.
"That's true," Nico added."So what now?"
There was a brief pause, the weight of their helplessness pressing down.
Rowan's eyes lit with an idea.
"Since we can't confront her, we'll need a prefect we know to do so."
"Who do we know can do that?" Nico asked, his voice skeptical.
"Yeah, who's that?" Theo echoed.
"Don't you guys get it? Darel is the person," Rowan explained.
"But he's no longer a prefect," Theo pointed out.
"Last time I checked, Darel and Elara are both fourth-year students," Rowan said, his voice steady.
"That's a good plan, Darel could help us confront her" Nico praised. "All we have to do is find Darel now," Nico continued, his tone resolute.
"Lira could know where he is. We could ask her," Theo suggested.
"Yeah, that's true," Rowan agreed, nodding.
"No, we're not asking Lira. It's a small place; we can find him ourselves," Nico said, his voice firm, his earlier lie to Lira weighing on him.
"Whichever way we go, I don't mind," Rowan agreed.
"Yeah, let's find him," Theo said, his voice determined, pushing past his doubts.
Lira sat in the quadrangle with Candice. Candice was teaching Lira to knit, her fingers fumbling as she tried to knit.
Candice was demonstrating.
"You have to be careful when you take in loops, especially for starters. You could tangle the whole thing, if you're not careful," Candice explained, her voice patient, her hands deft as she showed Lira the motions.
"How did you get so good at knitting?" Lira asked, her voice soft.
"When I was nine, my parents took me to this knitting camp," Candice said, her voice warm with nostalgia, her smile infectious.
Candice continued talking, but Lira's gaze drifted.
She spotted Nico, Rowan, and Theo approaching Darel in the distance, their tense postures catching her eye. Her heart skipped, suspicion and guilt twisting together.
"There was this girl Patricia, she was the queen bee at the camp. I didn't like her at all," Candice said, before noticing Lira distracted.
"Lira," she snapped her fingers.
Lira snapped back to focus.
"Oh my god, sorry," she said, her voice flustered, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment.
"What are you looking at?" Candice asked, turning to see Darel, her eyes lighting up.
"It's nothing important," Lira said, her voice tight, trying to dismiss her unease.
"You didn't tell me he was behind me," Candice said, pulling out her lip gloss, her tone playful but eager.
"What are you doing?" Lira asked in confusion.
Candice applied the lip gloss, her movements quick.
"Is my hair okay?" she asked, her voice tinged with panic, her hands smoothing her blonde locks.
"No, it actually looks a bit rough from earlier," Lira lied, a teasing glint in her eyes.
"What? This is bad. Darel can't see me like this," Candice cried, her voice rising, her cheeks flushing with worry.
Rowan, Theo, and Nico stood with Darel.
"What do you mean Asher's missing?" Darel asked, his voice sharp, Gaius's warning echoing in his mind.
"It's been two and a half days since we last aw him," Rowan said, his voice tight.
"We've checked around, but we still can't find him," Theo added.
"The only thing we could trace was a note where Elara asked Asher to meet with her," Nico concluded.
"This is not good," Darel said, his voice low, his mind racing with Gaius's words about Asher as the "master key," dread pooling in his gut.
"What is not good?" Rowan asked, his voice urgent, leaning closer.
"Asher is in great danger. We have to find him," Darel urged.
"What's going to happen to him?" Nico asked.
"I don't know how to explain it, but all we need to do is find Asher first," Darel said, his voice firm, urgency driving him.
"That's why we came to you. Maybe you could force Elara to say something," Rowan suggested.
"I can't do that," Darel rejected, his voice hard, his eyes narrowing with calculation.
"Why?" Rowan asked, confusion creasing his brow.
"That'll force her to act if she knows I know. Does that make sense?" Darel explained, his voice low.
"Kind of," Rowan replied.
"So what are we going to do then?" Nico asked.
"All we can do for now is to watch her," Darel answered.
"Seriously?" Rowan frowned.
"If she actually kidnapped Asher, she must be hiding him somewhere, and she'll obviously go there to check up on him," Darel explained, his tone confident, his eyes sharp with determination. "But if you watch her in the background, you maybe able to find him"
"Are you joining us?" Theo asked.
Darel's eyes turned cold, his jaw tightening as he lunged toward Theo, his voice low and sharp.
"Just because I'm no longer a prefect doesn't mean I'll be your watchdog, it's your duty to find him besides I have other things to attend to," Darel said, his voice final, before turning and leaving.
The three of them stared at each other with unease, tension urging.
"Once we find Asher, he's going to pay dearly for all the stress he's going to put us through ," Rowan said, his voice thick with anger and worry, his fists clenched.
"I'm with you on that," Nico joined, his tone bitter.
"Let's get going" Theo said.