The clock tower was colder than Sasha expected.
Stone walls that had stood for centuries, their surface worn smooth by time and weather. A spiral staircase that wound upward into darkness, each step echoing in the silence. Wind whistling through cracks in the ancient masonry, carrying the sounds of campus far below.
Sasha climbed carefully, one hand on the wall for balance, Maya close behind her. Their breath misted in the cold air. Their footsteps were the only sounds in the stillness.
"Are you sure about this?" Maya asked for the third time. "If we get caught—"
"We won't get caught." Sasha reached the top and pushed open the door. "Luc said he'd meet us here. He said it was safe."
The tower room was small and round, with arched windows on all sides that offered a panoramic view of t
