The next morning I got a summons.
It did not come from Aldo. It did not come from Bayu. I found an envelope with a red seal at my door. There was no name on it. Just my name, written in ink.
Kael Ember.
I opened the envelope. Found a piece of paper inside with one sentence:
"Headmaster's Office. 9 AM. Come alone."
Lina was already up. She read the sentence over my shoulder.
"The headmaster?" she asked me.
I told her I had never met him.
She said she was coming with me.
I shook my head. "He said to come."
Lina looked at me. Her eyes were dark brown and warm. They were not glowing. I could see she had made up her mind.
"I will wait outside," she said.
I did not argue with her.
---
The headmaster's office was on the floor of the main building.
I had never been there before. The hallway was different from the hallways in the academy. The walls were made of wood, not grey stone. The ceiling lights were not too bright. The atmosphere was formal.
Lina stopped at the door. "I am here," she said.
I knocked on the door.
"Come in," a voice said.
The voice was calm and controlled. It was like the voice of someone who was used to speaking in front of people.
I opened the door. Went in.
The office was large. It was bigger than Room 13. The walls were made of wood, and there were tall bookshelves on both sides. There was a table in the centre of the room made of the same wood. It was polished. Behind the table an old man sat in a chair.
He had white hair barely covering his scalp. His eyes were grey and sharp. He was wearing a robe, like Aldos, but it was neater and more formal.
"Kael Ember," he said. "I have heard a lot about you."
I did not sit down. I was not invited to.
The headmaster said, "You know you have been used as bait."
I clenched my fist. "I know," I said.
He asked me, "And you are still here?"
I told him, "I do not have a choice. The door to the Mariana Trench only opens during the equinox."
The headmaster smiled. It was not a happy smile.
He said, "You are like your grandfather. He never had a choice either… Maybe he chose not to have one."
He stood up. Walked to the window behind his desk. Outside the academy grounds looked empty. A few students were walking between the trees unaware of what was being discussed.
The headmaster said, "I knew from the beginning, Kael. From the moment you entered this academy. I knew you carried the Ember Core. I knew about Lina. I knew about Maya."
I stared at his back. "And you let us stay," I said.
He turned around. His grey eyes looked at me. I could not read them.
He said, "I let you stay because I trust Aldo. Because I wanted to see whether you would run or whether you would stay."
I asked him, "And now?"
He turned around again. His grey eyes looked tired.
He said, "Now I know. You will stay. Just like your grandfather."
He walked back to his desk. Opened a drawer. He pulled out a brown envelope.
He said, "This is for you."
I took the envelope. Opened it. Inside I found a photograph.
The paper was. The edges were wavy. The image was still clear. There were three people standing in front of the Academy gate. The gate was the same. It looked newer and shinier.
The first person was my grandfather. He was young and smiling.
The second person was Bayu. He was also young with black hair and black eyes.
The third person was a man with hair and dark eyes. He was tall and broad-shouldered, standing beside my grandfather with his arm around Bayu's shoulder. He was smiling widely.
I looked at the man in the photograph. Then at the headmaster's. He had white hair and grey eyes.
I said, "That is you."
He smiled. It was a tired smile. There was something in his eyes like longing.
He said, "That is me, Kael. Twenty years ago. Before I became Headmaster. Before I decided to sit in this chair and let others take the risks."
He took the photograph from my hand. Looked at it for a long time.
He said, "Your grandfather, Bayu and I were friends once. We explored the places and searched for the same artefacts until the Mariana Trench separated us."
I asked him, "What happened?"
He gave the photograph back to me. His grey eyes looked straight at me.
He said, "Your grandfather found something. Something no one should have found… He chose to hide it. Alone. Without us."
I asked him, "You?"
He smiled, but it was a bitter smile.
He said, "I chose to sit in this chair. Protect the Academy. Protect the students who know nothing. Let your grandfather fight alone."
He walked to the window again. His thin hand touched the glass.
He said, "I cannot go with you, Kael. My body is not what it used to be… I can give you one thing."
I asked him, "What is that?"
He said, "Access to all the information I have about the artefacts. About Ouroboros. About what your grandfather found in the Mariana Trench."
He opened another drawer. Pulled out a book. It was thick. Had a black leather cover. There was no title.
He said, "This is your grandfather's journal. From before he decided to hide everything. Before he chose to grow old in a village."
He placed the book on the table. Looked at me.
He said, "One warning, Kael."
I asked him, "What warning?"
His grey eyes looked at me with intensity.
He said, "Do not trust anyone who says they know what is best for you. Not everything that looks like protection is protection."
I took the book. It was heavy.
I asked him, "What do you mean?"
The headmaster did not answer. He just looked at me for a time. Then he smiled. It was not a happy smile.
He said, "You will understand later, Kael. When you stand in front of that door. When you have to choose between believing what you see and believing what you feel."
He walked to the door. Opened it.
He said, "Go. You have three weeks. Use them well."
---
I left the headmaster's office with the book in my hand.
Lina was waiting in the hallway. Her eyes looked at my face. Then at the book in my hand. She did not ask.
She said, "What is it?"
I told her, "It is my grandfather's journal. From before everything."
She nodded. Her warm hand took my one.
She asked me, "Are you okay?"
I looked at the hallway behind us. The headmaster's door was already closed.
I said, "I do not know."
We walked side by side toward our room. The book felt heavy in my hand. It was not just physically heavy. It was heavy with memories. Heavy with secrets that had been hidden for long.
Behind that door the headmaster, my grandfather's friend, had chosen to stay silent for twenty years. Just like my grandfather had chosen to hide everything
I did not know what was heavier. Keeping a secret. Knowing that the people you trusted had kept secrets from you.