“Mateo isn’t the True Headmaster,” Irene replied with a shudder. “And he isn’t the Soulless One.”
She paused, closing her fist around the ring.
“He’s both.”
Footsteps. The snap of a twig. A deep, guttural chuckle.
Mateo Albano—the True Headmaster of Blackwood…the Soulless One—stood before them, parting the darkness with nothing but his presence. He walked forward and the ground beneath his feet wilted, shriveling into ash and dust and decay. His eyes—a deep shade of sapphire that glowed in the darkness—zeroed in on them. All around him, shadows ebbed and flowed, waiting for his command.
“I told you, Irene.” His voice rumbled with power. “If you call me…I’ll answer.”
Masika didn’t miss the way Irene’s entire body tensed at the sight of him. She’d never seen the other girl look so wounded…so afraid.
Mateo snaked his gaze toward Masika. He watched her with chilling curiosity.
“The infamous Masika Sallow. Finally…we meet.”
Masika held her ground, angling her arm protectively in front of Irene.
“We know who you are,” she snapped, hoping she sounded braver than she felt. “Who youreallyare.”
Mateo chuckled. “I would expect that much. You know…given the ring in Irene’s hand.”
Irene flinched as her name slipped out of his mouth. “I don’t understand,” she whispered. “All this time…how could you have been the True Headmasterandthe Soulless One?”
“Those are just names given to me,” Mateo replied with a casual shrug. “Titles. Who am I to control what people write in the history books?” He stepped closer, movements slow and deliberate. “Iwasthe True Headmaster. Before Silas infiltrated Blackwood and took over. But I had sensed a change cresting on the horizon. An imminent betrayal. So…I took action.”
“The map,” Masika muttered softly. “You left a set of keys meant to unlock a piece of your soul. But it wasn’t there.”
A sudden silence fell over them. Mateo glanced between Irene and Masika, a solemn expression on his face. When he spoke next, there was a soft smile on his lips…a twisted flicker of melancholy.
“Silas was my friend. Did you know that?”
Masika flinched. “What?”
“He didn’t just barge into the school and destroy me,” Mateo explained. “There’s more to the story than what you’ve been told. More history. He was meticulous. Brilliant, honestly.” He let out a deep, bitter chuckle. “Have you noticed the way Silas’s appearance seems to…change? His age often impossible to pinpoint.” Next to her, Irene gave an almost indiscernible nod of her head. “That’s because of the power he stole. The more he loses control, the more Blackwood takes from him. When I met him…all those centuries ago…he was just a boy. Just about your age.”
A chill ran down Masika’s spine. It wasn’t possible…
Mateo continued, slinking closer.
“I know what the story says. That he simply weaseled his wayinto Blackwood and took control. But that isn’t true…not quite. I found Silas, just outside the gates, after he’d managed to drag himself out of the Shadow Lands. I was the Headmaster, after all—I knew everybody who came and went. And I knew, without a doubt, thathedid not belong.” A faraway look had fallen upon Mateo, as if he was lost in the past, stuck in a memory. “I took pity on him. It was foolish, thinking back on it now. But…a part of me thought…a part of me wondered…if perhaps the school had been wrong in marking him as a Corrupted Soul. I thought…maybe…I could fix him. I could change him.”
Mateo let out a sharp exhale and the distant look in his eyes vanished.
“I let him into the school. I enrolled him in Blackwood. I knew it was a mistake from the beginning—could feel the Ether’s discontent—but I didn’t care. Little by little, Silas gained my trust. We were part of a crew…similar to yours, might I add. I trusted him. Saw him like a brother.”
His voice cracked at that final word, but he continued.
“When I finally sensed his betrayal…it was too late. But I had just enough time to set aside the piece of my soul, hide it in purgatory, and entrust a close friend to resurrect me if Silas was successful in his plan.” Mateo’s expression darkened. Above them, the crimson clouds began to shift together, a swirling vortex forming in the black sky. “And hewassuccessful. But instead of destroying me outright, he thought it would be fitting to let me rot and wither away in the Shadow Lands. His silly need for poetic justice would ultimately lead to his ruin. Because hedidn’tdestroy me…not completely. And just like he did, I learned to harness the power of the Shadow Lands. I let the corruption seep into my soul. I let it feed on my anger. I let itconsumeme. It gave me enough strength to crawl out of the Shadow Landsand back into purgatory. But what I saw afterward…what I discovered…”
Mateo’s breath hitched in his throat. When he spoke next, there was a deep and grating rasp to his voice, a dark rumble that fluttered the leaves of the trees surrounding them. Even the ground seemed to tremble, as if cowering before his power.
“The person I had entrusted the piece of my soul to had betrayed me as well. I had given her the map that led to the first key, only to discover that she had placed the map right in Silas’s hands. She’dchosenhim.” His voice wavered, and Masikasworeshe saw something achingly close to hurt flash across his shadow-drenched eyes. “But ultimately, that irrevocable choice only solidified her destruction. I suppose Silas hadn’t wanted any loose ends. Maybe she knew too much…or maybe he’d simply known that destroying her would be worse than any fate I could endure.”
Irene had gone impossibly still next to Masika, her expression unreadable. Masika wished more than anything that she could reach into Irene’s mind and read her thoughts.
“My two closest friends had betrayed me,” Mateo said with bone-chilling finality. “And now they werebothgone. Because Silas wasn’t the person I had known…the person IthoughtI had known. What was left was an abomination of power.” Mateo lifted his hand and a stream of shadows slithered out of his palms, traveling down his forearm. “I understood, then, that there was no point in believing in the balance of the afterlife. Not while Silas was still in charge. I had to leave it all behind if I wanted to find a way to remove him from power. And that included my own soul.”
