Titans preparing for an off-record escape… Jason secretly helping… Aurion tightening surveillance… Blaze carrying the weight of the consequences as they slip into the night.
The academy felt different after sunset.
During the day, Veridion buzzed with students, coaches, analytics staff, scouts and the usual rhythm of training. But at night, when the lights hummed and the empty halls echoed, the place carried a kind of tension that stuck to the skin. It was the sort of silence that suggested someone else might be listening.
Blaze felt that silence more than anyone.
He sat alone in the dim glow of the analysis room, elbows on his knees, staring at the tactical board without seeing any of it. His chest was tight, his breathing uneven. Every sound outside made him flinch.
Aurion had crossed the line earlier that afternoon. They didn't hide it anymore.
They wanted him.
They were coming for him.
And no one at the academy seemed capable of stopping them.
