The woman was gone before Noah could ask her anything else.One second she was gripping his wrist, the courtyard lights flickering on behind her; the next, she'd released him and stepped back into the shadow of the fourth statue, and by the time Noah blinked, there was nothing there but stone.He didn't wait around to see who came looking. He ran, cutting through the side gate instead of the main path, keeping to the shadows the whole way back.He made it back to his room breathless, heart still hammering, and lay awake until the window went gray for the third time that week, replaying her last words over and over. *They're already awake.* He didn't know who "they" were. He was starting to think that not knowing might be the only thing keeping him alive.He said nothing to Dax the next morning. He was getting frighteningly good at that.The academy's Founders' Assembly was held every spring … a formal ceremony in the main hall, the entire student body seated by rank, faculty on the da

The vehicles pulled up to the gate, and the man in the gray coat was gone before the doors even opened … over the low wall and into the trees, quick enough that Noah almost doubted he'd been there at all.Two officers stepped out. Not the black-uniformed men from the assembly hall … campus security, local, the kind Noah had seen a hundred times without a second thought."Everything alright here?" one of them asked, glancing at Noah's face, which he was fairly sure still looked like he'd been crying. "We got a report of someone loitering near the gate.""I didn't see anyone," Noah said."You sure? Dispatch said a man, gray coat, moving fast toward the tree line.""I didn't see anyone," Noah repeated. "I've been sitting right here."It came out steadier than he expected, given everything. He was getting better at lying, apparently. Small comfort.The officer studied him a moment longer, clearly unconvinced, but let it go. "Head back to the dorms. The ceremony's still going on inside.""

"Sit down," Selene said again, when Noah didn't move. "Because once I tell you this, there's no version of your life that goes back to normal again."Noah sat. His legs were shaking too hard to argue anyway.Selene opened her mouth to start … and a sharp knock hit the door, three times, fast and uneven, nothing like a polite visitor's knock.She was across the room before Noah had even processed the sound, one hand already reaching for something tucked beside the bookshelf that looked less like a fireplace poker and more like a weapon somebody had disguised as one."Stay behind me," she said. "And don't say a word until I tell you it's safe to."Noah stayed frozen in the chair, pulse hammering, half-convinced the Council had finally caught up to both of them.She opened the door a crack, weapon angled low but ready, and whatever she saw made her drop it entirely and yank the door wide instead."You're supposed to be dead," she said, voice cracking with something between relief and fur

"Lyra wants me to find out about your bloodline," Aria said, the words tumbling out fast now that she'd started. "Whether the Council's interest is real. Whether you're actually unstable. She's using my place in the circle as leverage. If I don't bring something back, I lose my seat."Noah stood in the doorway, processing that slower than he expected to. "And you came here to tell me instead of just doing it.""I came here because I couldn't do it without telling you first. That felt worse than losing the stupid seat.""Why?""Because you're not a stupid seat, Noah. You never were. I just spent months acting like you were, and I don't know how to undo that, but I can at least not lie to your face about the one thing that actually matters right now."He studied her for a long moment, something in his chest loosening slightly despite everything else weighing on it. "Thank you. For telling me.""Don't thank me yet. I still have to go back and tell them something.""Tell them the truth. T

Adrian pulled a second folder from the cabinet he kept locked beside the door and shoved it into Noah's hands along with a set of keys Noah didn't recognize … leaving the academy file exactly where Noah had left it on the table. "Take the back door. There's a car two streets over, dark green, unlocked. Drive to the east district and wait for my call.""I don't even have a license…""You've driven it before. You'll manage." Adrian was already moving toward the front window, peering through the blinds at something Noah couldn't see. "Go. Now. We'll finish this conversation when it's safe to.""You keep saying that. It's never safe.""I know." Something in Adrian's voice cracked, just slightly. "Go anyway."Noah went out the back and through the narrow gap in the hedge Adrian had clearly planned for exactly this kind of exit, heart hammering the entire two streets to the car. He sat in the driver's seat for eleven minutes before his phone finally buzzed … a single text from Adrian's numb