The night air was cold against Sonia’s skin as she and Eric left the abandoned wing of the academy behind.
Every shadow felt like it was watching them, every creak of the old floorboards a threat. She tightened her grip on Eric’s hand, her heart drumming against her ribs like a warning.
They had the file now proof of the Cartel’s infiltration, of the academy’s complicity but it felt like a bomb ticking in her backpack. Every step they took felt heavier, the burden of the truth pressing on her chest.
Eric’s fingers squeezed hers as if he could sense the weight. “We’re almost there,” he murmured, his breath visible in the moonlight.
They reached the edge of the training field, where the old statues of founders cast long, eerie shadows. Sonia paused, her eyes tracing the worn stone faces
