Kael's POV
The Tower guard's hand was shaking.
I watched him fumble with the gate keys, dropping them twice before finally getting the lock open. Sweat dripped down his face even though the air was cold.
"Nervous?" I asked.
"Four dead in one month," he muttered. "We're all nervous."
The iron gate swung open with a rusty screech. I led Storm through into the courtyard. The Tower of Echoes rose above us like a giant stone finger pointing at the sky. Windows glowed with warm light. Students crossed the grounds in small groups, their voices hushed.
Everything looked normal. Peaceful.
But fear hung in the air like smoke. I could feel it. Smell it.
Something evil was happening here.
"This way," the guard said. "Master Aldric wants to see you immediately."
I tied Storm's reins to a post and followed the guard toward the main entrance. My hands wouldn't stop shaking. They always shook around magic. Around magic users.
Around people like the ones who killed Lira.
I clenched my fists and forced the memory down. Focus. The Council sent me here to investigate murders. Four Veil Keepers drained of magic. Four lives stolen.
I had a job to do.
We walked through massive wooden doors into the Tower's entrance hall. The ceiling stretched up three stories high. Tapestries covered the walls showing Veil Keepers fighting shadow creatures. Everything smelled like old stone and magic.
That electric feeling crawled across my skin. Magic everywhere. In the walls. In the air. In every person walking past.
My stomach turned. I hated this feeling.
"The Master is in a meeting," the guard said. "It might be a few minutes. You can wait in the—"
A scream cut through the air.
Everyone in the hall froze. The scream came again, louder this time. Desperate. Terrified.
"What was that?" I demanded.
The guard's face went pale. "That came from the detention hall."
We ran. My boots pounded against stone floors as we raced through corridors. Other guards joined us. Students pressed against walls, their eyes wide with fear.
We burst into a long hallway lined with windows. Through the glass, I could see into a large room below. My breath caught.
A girl stood in the center of the room. She looked about eighteen with brown hair pulled back in a messy braid. Her hands were raised, palms up. Blue light flickered in her hands—the beginning of a spell.
But something was wrong.
The blue light twisted. Turned black. Dark sparks exploded from her palms like tiny lightning bolts. They hit the walls, leaving scorch marks on the stone.
The girl cried out and shook her hands frantically, trying to make the black magic stop. It wouldn't. It kept sparking and crackling, completely out of control.
I'd never seen magic do that before. Magic was supposed to be blue or gold or white. Clean. Controlled.
This was something else. Something wrong.
"That's her," the guard beside me whispered. "That's Sera. The killer."
I couldn't look away from her face. She looked terrified. Not angry or evil or cruel. Just scared out of her mind.
She reminded me of Lira.
My sister's face flashed in my memory. Lira backed into a corner, flames surrounding her, screaming that she didn't know how to control it. Begging for help.
No one helped her. They called her dangerous. Called her corrupted. They killed her before anyone bothered to ask what was really happening.
I shook my head hard. Focus. This girl wasn't Lira. This was different.
But was it?
Master Aldric appeared in the room below. He raised his hands and blue magic shot from his palms, forming a barrier around Sera. The black sparks hit the barrier and fizzled out.
Sera collapsed to her knees, breathing hard. Her whole body shook.
"Is she dangerous?" I asked the guard.
"Very. She's killed four students already. Drained them of all magic. We found evidence in her room. Master Aldric is questioning her now."
"She doesn't look like a killer."
The guard gave me a hard look. "Killers never do. That's what makes them dangerous."
Maybe. But something felt wrong about this whole situation.
Master Aldric was talking to Sera now. I couldn't hear what they were saying through the glass, but I could see her face. She was crying. Pleading. Her hands gestured frantically as she tried to explain something.
Master Aldric's expression was cold. Unmoved.
He gestured to two guards in the room. They grabbed Sera's arms and pulled her to her feet. She struggled but they were too strong.
"They're taking her to lockdown," my guard said. "She'll stay there until the Council decides her punishment."
"Execution?"
"Probably."
I watched them drag Sera toward a door. She looked back over her shoulder one last time. Even from this distance, I could see the fear in her eyes.
That same fear Lira had. Right before they killed her.
My chest tightened. No. I couldn't let emotions cloud my judgment. I was here to investigate. To find facts. To discover the truth.
Not to save some girl just because she reminded me of my dead sister.
"Take me to Master Aldric," I said. "I need to start my investigation."
The guard nodded and led me through more hallways. We descended stairs to the lower levels. The air got colder. Damper. This was where they kept prisoners.
We stopped outside a heavy wooden door. The guard knocked.
"Enter," Master Aldric's voice called.
I stepped inside. The room was small with stone walls and one small window. Master Aldric stood near a desk covered with papers. His long gray beard and cold blue eyes made him look ancient and powerful.
"Mr. Thorne," he said. "I apologize for the delay. We had a situation."
"I saw. The girl with the black magic."
His expression darkened. "Yes. Sera. She's been corrupted by dark magic. We believe she's responsible for the four deaths."
"You believe? Or you know?"
"The evidence is overwhelming. She was near each death scene. Her magic has turned dark. We found stolen items from the victims in her room." He walked to the window. "She's guilty, Mr. Thorne. I'm certain of it."
"Then why did the Council send me? If you're already certain, you don't need an investigator."
Master Aldric turned to face me. "Because the Council wants an outsider's perspective. Someone not emotionally attached to our students. Someone who can confirm our findings without bias."
"Someone who hates magic users."
"That too." He didn't deny it. "Your reputation precedes you, Mr. Thorne. You've never let a rogue mage escape justice. You don't let emotions interfere with facts."
He was right. I didn't. I couldn't afford to.
But something about this case felt off. Wrong. Too convenient.
"I want to question her," I said. "Alone."
Master Aldric hesitated. "She's dangerous."
"I can handle dangerous. I've been doing this for five years."
"Very well. But you'll be searched for weapons first. And guards will be stationed outside the door."
"Fine."
He led me deeper into the detention level. We stopped outside a cell door. Two guards stood on either side, hands on their sword hilts.
"She's inside," Master Aldric said. "You have fifteen minutes."
He unlocked the door and pushed it open.
The cell was dark and cold. A single torch burned in the corner, casting dancing shadows on the walls.
Sera sat on a narrow bench, her knees pulled to her chest. When the door opened, her head snapped up. Her eyes were red from crying.
When she saw me, fear flashed across her face.
"Who are you?" she asked, her voice hoarse.
"Kael Thorne. The Council sent me to investigate the murders."
"I didn't kill anyone."
"That's what they all say."
"It's the truth!" She stood up. "Please, you have to believe me. Someone is setting me up. The evidence was planted. My magic is broken but I'm not stealing from anyone—"
"Stop." I held up a hand. "Start from the beginning. When did your magic start turning black?"
She swallowed hard. "Three months ago. I woke up one morning and it felt wrong. Like something was eating it from the inside."
"The first murder happened three months ago."
"I know. But I didn't kill Marcus! He was my friend!"
I studied her face. Looking for signs of deception. Guilt. Evil.
All I saw was fear.
The same fear Lira had.
My hands started shaking again. I shoved them in my pockets so she wouldn't see.
"Your magic," I said. "Can you control the black sparks?"
"No. They just happen. Every time I try to use magic, it turns dark and explodes."
"Has anyone tried to help you? Tried to fix it?"
"I was too scared to tell anyone. I thought it would go away on its own." Tears filled her eyes. "I was wrong. And now everyone thinks I'm a monster."
Before I could respond, footsteps thundered in the hallway outside. Shouting. Running.
The door burst open. A guard stumbled in, his face white with terror.
"Another one!" he gasped. "Another student is dead! We just found the body!"
My blood ran cold. "Where?"
"The library. Fifth floor."
I turned to Sera. She had been locked in this cell for the past hour. I had been watching the hallway. No one had entered or left.
She couldn't have done it.
Which meant the real killer was still out there.
And they had just struck again.
Master Aldric appeared in the doorway, his face twisted with rage. "This ends now." He pointed at Sera. "You're going to tell me how you did it. How you killed from inside a locked cell. Or so help me—"
"She didn't do it," I interrupted.
Everyone turned to stare at me.
"She's been here the whole time," I continued. "Under guard. Under watch. There's no way she could have killed someone from this cell."
"Then she has an accomplice," Master Aldric said. "Someone working with her."
"Or," I said slowly, "she's innocent. And the real killer is framing her."
Sera's eyes met mine. Hope flickered in them for the first time.
Master Aldric's face turned purple with anger. "You've been here less than an hour and you think you know better than—"
Another guard ran down the hallway. "Master Aldric! You need to see this! We found something on the body!"
We all rushed to the library. Up five flights of stairs. Through corridors filled with crying students and panicked teachers.
The library was massive with shelves reaching up three stories. In the center, between two bookcases, lay a body.
A girl. Maybe sixteen years old. Her eyes were open and empty. Her skin was gray. All her magic drained.
But that wasn't the worst part.
Carved into her forehead with something sharp were three words:
SERA IS INNOCENT"