Sofia didn't go straight to class.
She never did, not since Bernard had begun slipping her the notes. Today's was brief, a meeting, ten minutes after first bell, in the west wing's unused archives. She knew the path by heart now. She also knew it wasn't just about sharing knowledge anymore. It hadn't been for a while.
The stone corridors felt colder this morning. Or maybe she was just more aware of the silence. She moved like a shadow through the halls, skirts swaying softly, the click of her heels muted by decades of practice. She carried herself like someone in control, because if she stopped and let herself feel, even for a moment, she wasn't sure she could keep going.
The door to the archive was already cracked open. She slipped inside.
Bernard stood waiting by the tall window, backlit by the rising sun. His hands were clasped behind him, posture stiff and military, like always. He didn't greet her. That wasn't his way.
"You saw Haku this morning," he said, voice quiet but clear.
Sofia didn't flinch. "He was in the cafeteria. With his students."
"Watching you," Bernard said, finally turning.
Sofia met his gaze evenly. "I noticed."
He nodded, satisfied. "Good. Observation is your strongest weapon right now. And they are starting to suspect."
She didn't respond immediately. Her emerald eyes flicked to the desk beside him, where a stack of parchment lay, some marked with the scorpion sigil she was told never to speak aloud. Not yet.
"They still don't know," she said.
"No," Bernard agreed. "But they will. And when they do, they'll try to sway you."
Sofia looked away. "They already have. A little."
Bernard didn't react. "That's expected. Haku's dangerous, not just because of his past, but because he speaks to your doubts. That's how he poisons you."
There was silence.
Then Sofia spoke. "What if… he's not wrong about some things?"
That drew a slow, deliberate breath from Bernard. He moved toward her with calm authority. "You said you wanted freedom. That you wanted to rise beyond the name your family chained you with."
"I do," she said, quietly.
"Then stop questioning and listen. You are on the edge of something that most only dream of. The truth behind the Tower. Behind magic itself. The histories they erased, the power they buried. And you, only you, have the key."
Sofia swallowed. There was heat behind his words, but it wasn't comfort. It was pressure. Flame under glass.
"Then what do I do?" she asked.
"Keep his trust. Keep their trust. Let them think you're wavering. They'll come to you. Let them. But your loyalty is to the future. To us."
She nodded, slowly.
Bernard leaned closer, his voice dropping lower. "There will come a moment soon. When you'll need to choose. When hesitation will cost you everything, do you understand?"
Sofia met his eyes. "Yes"
But something in her voice was less certain than it had been.
Later that day, Sofia sat in Haku's lecture as if nothing had changed. She was composed, taking notes. Her eyes flicked up occasionally, measuring, studying. Not him, not really. The way he looked at her now was different. Less trusting. More guarded.
She wondered if he could feel it too, the weight behind her answers, the way she always knew exactly how to sound interested but never surprised.
After class, he stopped her.
"Sofia."
She turned. "Professor?"
His eyes searched her face. "You've changed."
Her smile was perfect. "I hope that's a compliment."
He didn't smile back. "You've been meeting with Bernard."
A flicker. Then gone. "Yes. He's been helping with my research. Said you were too busy."
That hit harder than expected.
"I see," Haku said.
She tilted her head. "Is that a problem?"
There it was again, that spark. She wasn't just deflecting. She was testing him.
Haku studied her in silence. He couldn't see the strings yet. But he felt them.
"No," he said finally. "Just be careful what you let him teach you."
Sofia nodded, demure and polite. But as she walked away, her fingers tightened around the strap of her satchel.
Inside it, the latest note from Bernard pulsed faintly with heat, a simple enchantment to let her know it had to be burned before dusk.
She wouldn't. Not this time.
Instead, she would read it again.
And again.
Because, despite what Bernard thought and what Haku feared, Sofia Vivaldi wasn't entirely under anyone's control.
Not anymore.
She was learning how to play both sides.
And eventually, when the time came, she wouldn't ask for power.
She would take it.....
As the days went on, Yue and Alex started their own investigation.
"She's heading east again," Yue muttered, not bothering to hide her irritation.
Alex didn't respond at first. He was crouched behind one of the arched support pillars lining the upper hall, watching Sofia's silhouette disappear around a corner. The hem of her coat flared as she turned. Always poised. Always graceful.
Too graceful.
"Third time this week," Yue said. "No classes in the east wing. Just faculty archives and a bunch of locked rooms."
Alex finally spoke, voice low. "She's not just wandering. She's waiting for something."
They moved together, silent and practiced. They'd done this kind of thing before, spying on monsters, tailing Professor Haku, who wasn't supposed to drink on duty. But this was different.
Sofia Vivaldi wasn't sneaking around.
She was moving like she belonged.
They followed her from a distance, careful never to let her catch a glimpse. Yue did most of the path-planning; she had a better instinct for shadows, for when to stop, when to move. Alex had better ears. Together, they were efficient. Quiet. Not like the loud arguments they usually had.
They didn't speak again until they reached the old spiral stairwell that led down to the sealed archives.
Sofia was gone.
Yue leaned over the railing, whispering, "That door should be locked."
It wasn't.
The heavy iron ring on the wooden door still swung gently, as if just let go.
Alex narrowed his eyes. "She has access."
"Or someone gave her a key," Yue said. "Either way…"
She let it hang.
They didn't go in. That wasn't the plan.
Instead, they marked the time and the direction, then pulled back. They found cover in a nearby alcove filled with broken shelves and forgotten stone busts.
"I don't like this," Yue said. "She was quoting Haku last semester like it was gospel. Now she's glued to Bernard like he's her mentor?"
"She switched teams," Alex said, arms crossed.
"No one switches that fast," Yue replied. "Not unless they were always on the fence."
Alex grunted. "Think she's being used?"
"Maybe. But not like a puppet. She's not stupid, Alex. You've seen the way she moves. This isn't someone stumbling into danger. She chose this."
Alex tapped a finger against his knee. "Still doesn't make sense. I read her last essay. It was about magical boundaries. It quoted Haku and Elena, who is in Bernard's faction, in the same paragraph. She knows what she's talking about."
Yue tilted her head. "So maybe she thinks she's above both."
They sat in silence for a moment.
Then Yue said, "You're quiet today."
Alex didn't look at her. "Just tired."
"Liar."
Another pause.
"She reminds me of my brother," he said finally.
Yue blinked. "Didn't know you had a brother."
"Yeah, well. He was like that, too. Smiled a lot. Always seemed... in control. Always said the right thing. And then one day we woke up and realized he'd been making deals with people we didn't even know existed."
Yue's voice softened. "What happened?"
"He vanished. Right before he was supposed to get something from my Dad. A book he wasn't supposed to show anyone, but my brother did it anyway. Some kind of forbidden book, that's all I know. No one's seen him since."
Yue was quiet. Then, "Wait, but you're an orphan, right? That means... it wasn't just your brother that disappeared, right?"
Alex said. "I had the same feeling back then as I do now, I think if we don't help her, something bad might happen."
They sat there for a while longer before heading back.
Later that evening, they met Haku in his makeshift study room.
He didn't look up when they entered. He was writing. Fast. Focused.
"Well?" he said.
Yue answered first. "East wing. Faculty archives. She was let in or had access."
"She met someone?" Haku asked.
Alex shook his head. "No one we saw. But she stayed there twenty-three minutes."
"Too long for wandering," Yue added. "And her face changed after. Calmer. Sharper."
Haku looked up, finally. "So she's getting instructions."
Alex leaned on the desk. "Haku… do you think she's in danger?"
Haku met his gaze.
"I think she's not the same student I started teaching," he said. "And I think Bernard's using her."
"And if she's not being used?" Yue asked.
Haku didn't answer immediately. He closed his notebook and stood.
"Then she's playing a deeper game than any of us thought," he said. "And that makes her the most dangerous one of all."
Elsewhere, Sofia stood in front of her mirror, removing the silk ribbon from her collar. Her reflection stared back at her, poised, flawless, unreadable.
She unrolled the newest note from Bernard.
It contained only one line.
"Watch the watchers."
She folded it carefully.
Then looked directly at the mirror.
And smiled.