BOOK THREE166Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKUHPfq0nJL
Two weeks after Kim is officially exonerated, life at school has shifted, but not in the way she once imagined. The deputy’s announcement cleared her name, and the red circle around her case on the notice board was finally taken down. Yet, as Kim walks through the halls, she feels the strange, heavy quiet that follows a storm.166Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ApByqe5CE
Some classmates nod at her now, a few even offer shy smiles, but there are still whispers-some of relief, some of lingering suspicion. Teachers seem cautious, as if unsure how to treat her: no longer a warning, but not quite a hero either. This is the complicated reality for those who have been publicly accused, even after being cleared.166Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOhmfRXZHwE
Even though her name has finally been cleared, there’s a knot in her stomach that won’t go away. Everyone keeps telling her to be relieved, to celebrate, but she can’t. Not really. Because the people who framed her are still out there, untouched, and it feels like someone powerful is protecting them from the consequences.166Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT1MkSAaDzu
She keeps replaying the investigation in her mind. The only real lead she ever had was the call made from the staffroom landline, the one that started it all. But no matter how hard she pushed, no matter how many questions I asked, nobody could-or would-say who actually made that call. The records were vague, the teachers closed ranks, and the administration just wanted the whole thing to disappear.166Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5KReN9hXVX
It’s like there’s an invisible wall she can’t break through. Every time she gets close to the truth, it slips away, hidden behind polite smiles and locked doors. She knows she should be grateful that her record is clean again, that she is not being whispered about in the corridors anymore. But she can’t help feeling like justice hasn’t really been served-not for her, and not for anyone who might be targeted next.166Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOI9F4AmTIg
Sometimes she wonders if she should just let it go, move on, and focus on being prefect, on rebuilding her life. But deep down, she knows she can’t. Not while the real culprits are still protected by shadows and silence. Not while the system that let this happen remains unchanged.166Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡte0vGl0dYy
**********166Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqiNeUmuOB5
Someone within the Order had helped Kim access confidential information, exposing cracks in the very machinery Jabari prided himself on controlling. Now, Kim had not only cleared her name but had also been elected class prefect of Form Two White, under the visible protection of his long-time rival, Mercy Kipkirui Rono, the school president at Kisumu Girls.166Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtjX3jb2Ekp
Jabari wasted no time. That evening, he convened a discreet meeting with two of his most reliable contacts-students who had proven their loyalty to the Order of Hermes time and again. In the quiet corner of the library, he outlined his instructions in measured tones.166Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHBBx8zHH3U
“Watch Kim,” he said, sliding a folded slip of paper across the table. 166Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBqLWveAGKU
“I want to know who she meets, what she says, and if she ever slips away from Mercy’s shadow. Discretion is everything.”166Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk6Fwy6zOjU
They nodded, understanding the stakes. Jabari’s reputation for precision and subtlety was well-earned; mistakes were not tolerated.166Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcmvLw2SIWU
Later, in the solitude of his dorm room, Jabari penned a short, cryptic note. He chose his words carefully, crafting a riddle that referenced both the myth of Hermes and the events of Kim’s recent ordeal-something only a clever mind would recognize as an invitation, not a threat:166Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Opkq7fBQm
“For those who walk between shadow and flame,166Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvLQma8Bl78
The forge awaits at the hour when day and night are twins.166Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDjzELWpbho
Bring only your questions. Leave your fear at the door.”166Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5d7ZKX5hyQ
He sealed the note and arranged for it to be slipped into Kim’s desk the next morning, timing it so that Mercy would not notice. The message was clear to those who understood the language of secrets: a meeting was being offered, but on Jabari’s terms.166Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡojGUI2YLhz
As the sun set, Jabari reviewed his strategy. He would not move against Mercy directly-not yet. Instead, he’d let the tension simmer, showing just enough influence to remind her and the rest of the council that the Order was still a force to be reckoned with. If Kim responded to his invitation, the real test would begin.166Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIvLIWdzkQr
For Jabari, the coming days would determine everything. Would Kim prove herself worthy of the Order’s trust, or would she become a new kind of rival-one who could threaten the very foundation of the secret society he’d helped build? He felt the old thrill of anticipation, the sense that the game was changing, and that he was once again at the heart of the forge, ready to shape the future from the chaos around him.166Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfJdtCXUb5E
**********166Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLqS5sK7Y8K
Mercy Kipkirui Rono watched the school courtyard from her office window, her gaze sharp and calculating. As president of Kisumu Girls, she wore her authority like a tailored blazer-visible, respected, and not to be questioned. Yet beneath the surface, Mercy’s ambitions ran deeper than any of her classmates suspected.166Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrNUO9mztXw
Kim’s exoneration had unsettled her, but not for the reasons most assumed. Mercy was not convinced of Kim’s innocence-at least, not entirely. She saw the gaps in the story, the unanswered questions, and the invisible hands that had shielded the real culprits. But for Mercy, the truth was less important than the opportunity the situation presented.166Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNAHUQifpRP
The Order of Hermes had long been a thorn in her side-a clandestine society that wielded influence across both schools, with Jabari at its center. Mercy respected Jabari’s cunning, but she resented his hold on the hidden levers of power. Now, with Kim’s reputation restored and Seline’s loyalty unquestioned, Mercy saw her chance.166Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm6qCfBbj7A
She would unite with Kim, not out of friendship or a shared sense of justice, but as a calculated move. Kim’s determination and Seline’s resourcefulness would be her weapons. With them by her side, she could undermine Jabari’s authority, expose the Order’s secrets, and-when the time was right-claim the ring for herself.166Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUVzFaCodWc
Mercy’s motives were clear in her own mind. She didn’t want to destroy the Order of Hermes; she wanted to control it. She wanted to be the one in the shadows, pulling the strings, shaping the future of both schools. If Jabari had to be sacrificed along the way, so be it. In Mercy’s world, power was the only prize worth fighting for, and she intended to win.166Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIhS6Af5xNm
*********166Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkfTJcvMtjC
On the surface, everything seemed unchanged: prefects patrolled the corridors, teachers marked essays in sunlit staff rooms, and the two schools-the boys and girls-maintained their polite rivalry. But beneath that veneer, a battle for real power was quietly escalating.166Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX2uRbFTr24
Jabari, felt the shift most keenly. He had spent years perfecting the art of subtle influence, his authority resting not just on his official title but on the secret society that operated in the shadows. The Order had always been his forge, a place where chaos was shaped into order, where secrets were currency and loyalty were everything.166Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1fJ9L5wIE4
But now, Mercy Kipkirui Rono, the formidable president of Kisumu Girls, was moving against him. Mercy was no stranger to ambition; she wore her leadership like armor, her smile as sharp as a blade. She had watched the Order’s machinations from afar, biding her time, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Kim’s exoneration had provided her with that opportunity.166Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhML7RR7OOy
Mercy’s alliance with Kim and Seline was as strategic as it was sudden. She saw in Kim a weapon-someone with enough determination and curiosity to unsettle Jabari’s careful plans. Seline, loyal and resourceful, was the perfect complement. Mercy offered them protection and a promise of justice, but her true aim was to dismantle the Order of Hermes and seize its power for herself. She didn’t want to destroy the secret society; she wanted to rule it.166Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8R96XBCmUT
Jabari, for his part, recognized the threat. He watched as Kim and Seline moved closer to Mercy’s orbit, and he weighed his options with the precision of a master craftsman. Should he try to recruit Kim, to bring her into the Order and neutralize her as a threat? Or should he move against Mercy directly, risking open conflict and the exposure of secrets best left buried?166Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwmqAufUbXQ
Caught between these two titans, Kim and Seline felt the pressure mounting. Kim, still reeling from her ordeal, she wanted justice, not just for herself but for the truth that remained hidden. Seline, ever loyal, stood by Kim’s side, her trust tested by the shifting tides of allegiance.166Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbAHCZ1BIYS
Every encounter was charged with unspoken questions and hidden motives. In the council rooms and quiet corners, alliances were forged and tested. The Order’s secrecy bred suspicion; Mercy’s ambition stoked the flames. And through it all, Kim and Seline walked a tightrope, not knowing that whichever side they chose could change the fate of the schools-and themselves-forever.166Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxStMLBhbbC
In this silent war, trust was a weapon, and every promise came with a price. The real battle was just beginning, and the outcome was anything but certain.8964 copyright protection162ＰＥＮＡＮＡq7Odqtzz5I 維尼

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