Octavia's Point of View
The day drags on longer than it should.
All my classes blur together, lectures about strategy, training drills that feel mechanical. Everyone is pretending like life is normal again, but I can feel the undercurrent beneath it all. The unease. The threat we are not supposed to talk about.
By the time the sun starts dipping behind the western wing of the academy, I cannot take it anymore. I head towards the garden path behind the library, the one no one uses after sunset. I need some air and space. A break from the constant tension.
That is when I hear footsteps behind me.
They are steady and familiar.
“Octavia.”
I turn around, already knowing who it is before I see him. Kai stands a few paces away, his hands tucked into the pockets of his hoodie, the last slan
