The day came... and passed as darkness swallowed the sky.
The Academy grounds were quiet after midnight. Most students were asleep, and the patrol routes—consisting of faculty members and senior council students—followed predictable patterns.
Alaric had spent the past week memorizing those patterns.
He met Nyra in a shadowed alcove near the eastern maintenance corridor. She wore dark clothing instead of her usual maid uniform, her midnight blue hair tied back tightly.
"Ready?" he asked quietly.
She nodded. "The patrol passed three minutes ago. We have approximately twelve minutes before the next one."
"That should be enough."
They moved through the corridor with practiced silence.
Alaric had studied the path earlier, which floorboards creaked, where essence lamps were brightest, what angles provided the most cover.
The maintenance door Henry had used stood locked and unremarkable among several others.
