Inside the command tent, the air was thick with the scent of cured leather and old parchment.

  Hana leaned back against the crate of books, her weight causing the dry wood to groan beneath her. She held the report loosely, the paper fluttering in her grip.

  The moment her shoulders pressed into the lid, a sharp chill pierced through her uniform, crawling up her spine. Upon the initial shock, she tried to convince herself it was merely a draft of the night air slipping through the seams.

  But as she rested her palm against the grain of the box, the wood felt unnaturally cold, colder than the night outside.

  Goosebumps erupted along her arm, a primal warning that had nothing to do with the wind.

  Frowning, Hana set the paper onto a nearby field desk, the sheet sliding across the scarred surface.

  She turned to study the container, the flicker of a single ntern casting long, dancing shadows. It looked identical to the others, yet the air around it felt heavy, as if it was draining the warmth out of the room.

  Her chest tightened, her breathing echoing loud and ragged in the cramped space. Just as her fingers hooked under the edge of the lid, another knight barged into her tent.

  “Miss Armenta!” a knight excimed, snapping into a formal bow.

  Hana pulled her hand back at once. “Yes?”

  “The commander requests your presence at the barracks.”

  “Has the crowd died down?” she asked, turning toward the tent entrance.

  “Most citizens have returned home under curfew, ma’am. We expect another gathering tomorrow.”

  “That won’t matter,” Hana said. “We’ll pack up as quickly as possible and send everything back to the capital.”

  She stepped outside, then paused. “Keep an eye on the containers for me. The meeting shouldn’t take long.”

  “Yes, ma’am!”

  The knight rexed into position as she left, then immediately stiffened again as a sudden chill crept down his spine.

  As the moon climbed into the star-filled night sky, Saya and Albo slipped into the cssroom, keeping low behind rows of neatly arranged desks and chairs.

  The wooden floorboards creaked softly beneath each step, while winter winds rattled the window frames. Though the wind didn’t seep through the sealed panes, the room remained cold all the same.

  They exchanged a gnce, a shared fire burning in their eyes. Reaching into his pocket, Albo id out a hastily drawn floor pn of the academy. It was far from professional, just something he had sketched during his free time, but it was detailed enough to serve its purpose.

  Originally, he’d only used it for te-night snack runs or sneaking into the city for trouble. Still, it was more than sufficient for Saya to understand. A roughly scribbled circle marked their current location.

  “First things first, we’re going to have to be fast.”

  Albo said quietly, pointing toward the hallway beyond the cssroom.

  “It’s most likely that guards will be patrolling the pce. If they’re in the city, it’s only natural to assume that they’ll be here too.”

  His finger slid toward the top of the page. “We’ll use the roof, then jump down using my wind magic.”

  “The wind magic will be our silencer, and even though I’m not particurly good at using it, I should be fine if it’s just the two of us.”

  Saya listened with intrigue. She had never seen Albo this focused on anything, aside from the topic of food.

  “I’ll take the lead,” he continued. “You’ll be my extra pair of eyes.”

  “How?” Saya asked, lifting her head slightly to meet his gaze.

  “I’ll be watching what’s directly ahead. You’ll watch for anything farther out. If I start to sprint and there’s a knight turning a corner behind us, tug my shirt.”

  Saya tilted her head. “Will that really get your attention?”

  Albo nodded. “I’m not wearing a traditional robe, so I’ll feel it immediately. Which is why you need to stay close.”

  “Listen, the moment we decide to set off, we’re not Albo and Saya anymore. We need to act and think as one.” Albo sternly stated, raising his voice ever so slightly to emphasize the importance of the act.

  Breaking the tension, Saya hummed thoughtfully.

  “Hmm, we’re going to be ‘Aya’ then.”

  The seriousness in Albo’s voice cracked. “What in the world is Aya?”

  She smiled. “I combined Albo and Saya.”

  Albo raised his hand and lightly smacked her head, prompting a reactionary squeak from Saya.

  “Focus.”

  “Oww, I get it, I get it,” she said, her tone shifting instantly from pyful to serious. She nodded, her confidence steady. “I’m ready.”

  Albo returned the nod with a gentle smile, his breathing steading with every bit of reassurance from Saya.

  A stealth mission of this scale was frankly beyond Albo’s capabilities. Before, all he needed to do was fool the sleeping professors, but now, he had to go against trained knights themselves. He knew this was out of his depth, and anxiety gnawed at him with every passing second.

  But each time he took a gnce at Saya’s face, she would drain all the unease out of his body and soul. He rolled the paper up and slipped it back into his pocket. Together, they stood and crept toward the door. Albo pced his hand on the knob, twisting it slowly, then gnced back one st time.

  Saya was pressed close against his back, her attention fixed sideways and behind them. Despite not being in danger yet, she had fully immersed and prepared herself for what was to come. With her there, he felt steadier.

  They hadn’t worked in unison like this for a long time, and the familiarity sent a quiet wave of nostalgia through Albo.

  Whether or not they would be successful was yet to be seen, but at least she wasn’t helpless.

  As Albo opened the door, a rush of winter air smmed into them, biting at their skin. Ignoring the cold, they took off, sprinting through the academy’s darkened halls.