Noon at Valmere used to be a time of bells and the rush of hungry students. Now, it was a time of synchronized silence.
The Ministry guards stood at every intersection of the Admin Block. They didn't move. They didn't speak. They just watched the students file toward the refectory in a single, silent line.
I was in the middle of that line. My hands were shoved deep into my pockets, my fingers curled around the Brass Token through the fabric of my coat.
"Ready?" Cael whispered from behind me.
"Ready," I said.
The Admin Block was a massive stone structure that housed the archives, the vaults, and now, Lord Blackwood's temporary headquarters. The vibration sensors Merek had installed were buried under the floorboards every ten feet. To a sensitive Reader, the building was a giant drum; a single irregular step would ring like a bell.
But thirty students walking in unison? That was a rhythm.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
