The redwood scent still clung to their clothes as Isla and Caius stepped out of the Hollow Archive and into the night. The mist in Hollowmere had thickened, curling around their boots like grasping fingers. Behind them, the crooked silhouette of the Archive stood silent, as if the building itself were reluctant to release them.
Caius let out a long, sharp breath. "Well… that was the strangest meeting I've ever had."
Isla kept walking. Her mind buzzed with what Old Marla had said—the Veil, the First Sin, the Circle, her mother. The weight of it made her feel both smaller and heavier all at once.
Caius jogged a few steps to catch up. "So… what now?" He kicked a loose stone on the road, watching it skitter off into the mist. "We go home, hope it all blows over?"
Isla stopped. Her voice came low and steady. "We find the Midnight Circle."
Caius blinked. "I'm sorry—what?"
She turned to face him. "We find them. We find out what they want, what they're planning, and how we stop it."
Caius scoffed, half-laughing like he'd misheard her. "You want to chase a cult of death-worshipping ghost whisperers across the countryside because a creepy old woman told us bedtime stories over tea?"
"She wasn't telling stories," Isla snapped. "And you heard what she said. The Circle marked us. You felt it—don't lie. You've had the visions too. And we both got that warning."
He looked away, jaw tense. "Yeah, well… just because it's real doesn't mean we can stop it. Maybe it's better not to dig too deep. We're alive. That should count for something."
Isla's voice cracked as she said, "They have my mother."
That stopped him.
"I saw the sigil in that book," she said quietly. "It was the same as the one she wore before she disappeared. She was part of this. Or they took her. Either way, I can't walk away."
Caius rubbed his face with both hands and muttered, "Damn it, Isla…"
She crossed her arms. "You can go, if you want. No one's forcing you."
But he didn't move. The silence between them stretched.
Finally, Caius sighed. "I can't do this alone. I tried. And it's only getting worse." He looked at her, serious for once. "If we're doing this… we do it together."
Isla nodded once.
He gestured vaguely toward the shadows. "So, where do cursed children go to hunt ancient death cults?"
She pulled the map Old Marla had slipped between the pages of the serpent-bound book. The parchment was stained with age, its ink faded—but one marking stood clear: a black 'X' over an isolated stretch of land far from Hollowmere.
"Ashmere," Isla whispered. "It's an old sacrificial ground. People say it's cursed. The rumors say the Midnight Circle was born there."
Caius raised a brow. "Of course it is."
She folded the map, tucked it away. "We'll leave at first light."
"And if we find them?" he asked. "If they find us?"
Isla didn't answer right away. Then: "Then we stop running."
The mist parted before them like a breath held too long, the road ahead barely visible—but for the first time, it felt like a direction.
Behind them, in the Hollow Archive, a candle flickered back to life… and somewhere deep beneath the floorboards, something moved.