The moon hung over the sky.
And academy grounds were quiet at this hour.
Except for one girl, who moved along the outer wall of the eastern dormitory. Her chestnut brown hair was pulled back in a practical braid, and she wore the simple gray uniform of academy maintenance staff... loose trousers, plain tunic, tool belt at her waist that actually contained tools.
Her hazel eyes scanned the patrol route ahead.
Two guards were walking in sync.
She pressed herself against the cold stone and waited.
The guards’ footsteps grew louder, their conversation drifting toward her.
"Heard they’re bringing in investigators from the capital."
"About ti. This place feels like a damn prison now with all these extra patrols."
Just as they rounded the corner, the girl stepped out behind them, silent as a shadow.
Her hand shot out, fingers pressing precise points on the first guard’s neck.
He dropped without much sound.
The second guard started to turn, hand moving toward his sword, but she was already there. Sa technique, sa result.
Both bodies crumpled to the ground.
Elena dragged them into a small alcove between buildings, positioning them so they looked like they’d sat down to rest.
Then she dusted off her hands and moved deeper into the academy grounds.
The library wing was locked at this hour. She produced a thin piece of tal from her tool belt, actually a lockpick, and had the side entrance open in less than thirty seconds.
Inside, the library was dark except for moonlight filtering through high windows. Rows of bookshelves stretched into shadow.
She didn’t head for the books. She moved toward the administrative section at the back, where student records were kept.
She found the filing cabinet, picked that lock too, and began pulling records.
Alaric Glimor. Adopted into House Glimor six months ago. Previous background- orphaned cousin’s son, raised in rural estate. No essence awakening until recently.
Then she pulled more of the files regarding different students with practiced ease. Suggesting this wasn’t the first ti her doing this.
Her fingers traced the parchnt. She copied the relevant information into a small journal, returned the files, and relocked everything.
Then she slipped outside and moved through the grounds.
On her way, she knocked out three more guards who were in inconvenient positions, always using the sa precise technique that left no marks.
By the ti she reached the central courtyard, she’d been inside the academy for two hours and gathered information on seven different students.
That’s when she spotted a lone figure there.
Oliver sat on a bench near the fountain, hunched over a book despite the late hour. Lamplight from a nearby post illuminated the pages. And was looking at her, blinking.
She paused, then smiled—her cheerful, harmless smile, of a cute girl, like she was—and approached openly.
"Oliver!" She made her voice bright and surprised. "What are you doing out here so late?"
He startled, then relaxed when he recognized her. "Elena? I could ask you the sa thing."
"Night shift," she said easily, gesturing at her work clothes.
"They’ve got us doing extra security checks on all the buildings after... you know." She sat down beside him uninvited. "What about you? Studying?"
"Trying to." He closed the book. "Can’t sleep. Every ti I close my eyes I keep thinking about the attack, wondering if they’ll co back, if—" He stopped himself.
"Sorry."
"It’s okay." Elena’s voice was gentle, understanding. "It was scary. You’re allowed to be worried."
Then they talked for a while.
Elena asked about his classes, his roommate, whether he was settling in okay.
Oliver gradually relaxed, so of the tension leaving his shoulders.
"You’re easy to talk to," he said after a while. "Most people at the academy are so... competitive. It’s nice to just have a normal conversation."
Elena smiled. "That’s what friends are for."
Eventually Oliver stood, said he should try to sleep, thanked her for listening.
She watched him walk back toward the dormitories, her smile staying in place until he disappeared through the doors.
Then it dropped.
"Took you long enough."
Elena didn’t turn around. "I was being thorough."
A figure erged from the deeper shadows near the fountain.
Hooded, face obscured.
"We don’t have ti for thorough," the figure said. Their voice was gender-neutral, deliberately muffled. "The barriers are being reinforced tomorrow. If we’re still inside when that happens, we won’t get out without triggering alarms."
"I got what we needed." Elena stood, her entire deanor shifting. The warmth, the approachability was gone. Replaced by cool professionalism. "Seven profiles, including the priority target. He’s more interesting than the report suggested."
"Save it for the debrief. We’re leaving. Now."
Elena nodded. She closed her eyes briefly, focusing.
Her consciousness reached out across the academy grounds, finding the guards she’d knocked unconscious. Four of them had already woken, confused and disoriented. The other two would wake soon.
She touched each of their minds with careful precision.
They’d rember feeling tired. Sitting down to rest. Nothing else would seem worth questioning.
"Done," she said quietly.
The hooded figure gave a single nod, then turned and moved toward the outer wall.
Elena fell into step behind them, her boots making barely any sound against the cobblestones.
They scaled the wall easily and dropped to the other side. The academy’s outer barriers shimred above them, but this section had weak points if you knew where to look.
They moved quickly through the outer grounds, keeping low and staying in the shadows cast by nearby buildings. Within minutes they’d reached the city streets.
Elena straightened from her crouch and adjusted her work dress, brushing dirt off her knees.
Elena tilted her head back as they walked, looking up at the sky. The moon hung full and bright overhead, its light washing the buildings in silver and casting sharp shadows across the cobblestones.
"Moon’s so bright tonight," she said, her voice was quiet but casual.
"It’s the Crimson Tide," the hooded figure replied without looking at her. "When the moon reaches its peak, vampire and wolf beastkin bloodlines beco more active. Their essence flows stronger, and instincts sharpen."
Elena glanced at the figure, a small smile tugging at her lips. "That’s why you chose tonight for this, isn’t it?"
The figure didn’t answer, but their silence was confirmation enough.
They walked through three more streets, taking turns that seed random but it was a route designed to lose any potential followers.
Left down a narrow alley between a closed butcher shop and a textile rchant. Right onto a wider street where rchant stalls sat empty. Left again into an even narrower passage where the buildings leaned close enough that their upper floors nearly touched overhead.
At the end of this passage stood a nondescript door, with no markings or signs.
The hooded figure stopped in front of it and knocked three tis. Pause.
Then twice more.
A signal.
For several seconds, nothing happened. Then the sound of a bolt sliding back echoed from the other side. The door swung inward.
The figure stepped through without hesitation. Elena followed, her eyes already adjusting to the dimr light as the door closed behind them with a solid thunk.
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