The tunnel spat us out into darkness.
I landed hard on one knee, gravel biting through my pants. Behind me, Niko dropped down silently, his knife still in hand. Dust floated in the narrow beam of his flashlight, the ceiling above us groaning with the weight of the Academy.
“Where are we?” I whispered.
“Maintenance shaft,” Niko muttered, rising to check the path ahead. “If Callum’s map is right, we’re two levels beneath the east dorms. That access point he mentioned? We’ll have to climb.”
I glanced upward. A rusted ladder led into the shadows, bolted against crumbling stone and steel. My fingers twitched around the drive in my pocket. It felt heavier than it should have. Like it knew what it carried.
“They’ll be scanning every exit,” I said.
“They already are,” Niko replied grimly. “T
