Octavia's Point of View
The night is still, broken only by the soft patter of our footsteps against the damp earth. The shadows stretch long between the trees, the faint lanterns from the academy walls casting just enough glow for me to see Kai’s profile when he walks a little ahead, scanning, and alert.
Everything is going according to plan. The school’s guards pace along their routes, unaware of us trailing just far enough back to shadow their every move. Their boots crunch faintly against gravel, ours are softer, practiced, and purposeful.
Kai keeps his voice low when he finally speaks, it is a whisper barely above the night air. “So…” he says, his eyes still on the guards ahead, though I can feel the weight of his words is aimed at me. “I saw you at breakfast. With Rafael.”
The way
