"Sorry," I whispered.
I knew damn well an apology wouldn't fix anything. When they caught us—and they would—it was him who'd pay for it.
"What exactly are you apologizing for?" Andrew asked, finally stopping his scan of the surroundings. "This was my choice. I knew the risks."
So he'd accepted it too.
How this would end.
I turned toward the sound of boots and voices drawing closer.
A foot stepped into the doorway.
I almost shut my eyes—
but didn't.
The foot froze mid-step.
I stared.
"What are you waiting for? Move!" Storik snapped, yanking me forward.
We bolted into the corridor.
I barely registered anything before Andrew tore a passage through the wall—
and we stumbled into a sealed room.
Voices.
Running.
Closer.
He didn't slow down.
Another breach—
and suddenly we were outside, in the back of the courtyard.
Right where we came in.
Chaos.
Even here.
We pressed ourselves against the wall, barely breathing.
The fence—
just a few dozen meters away—
might as well have been miles.
We'd gotten out of the basement by a miracle.
And now—
another dead end.
"Come on… do it again," Storik muttered under his breath.
I frowned.
He wasn't looking at me.
I followed his gaze—
and saw it.
A silhouette.
Half-hidden among the trees.
Still.
Watching.
And then—
everything stopped.
Every guard in the yard froze.
"Run," Andrew hissed, grabbing my arm.
We sprinted.
Covered the distance in seconds.
Barely made it into the outbuilding—
and then everything snapped back into motion.
Andrew stumbled.
Collapsed.
Breathing hard.
His face had gone pale.
He was at his limit.
"One more push…" he rasped, more to himself than to me.
He tried to stand—
failed—
hit the ground again.
"Shit."
"Rest," I said. "You won't open another passage like this."
"We're almost out," he muttered. "I'm not letting that show-off's effort go to waste."
"Who are you even talking about?"
"Alan… sometimes you're unbelievably dense," he said, rolling onto his back. "What do you think just saved our asses?"
I hesitated.
"I don't know… but for a second it felt like time just… stopped…"
Then it clicked.
"…Wait. Stopped? No way. That was—Silius? But how?!"
"Don't ask me," Andrew said. "I don't get it either. Last time we fought, he barely managed to stop me alone—and now this? No clue how he pulled it off… but for once, I'm glad that guy's glued to you."
"I didn't tell him anything."
"Then he figured it out himself. Enough. We move. They'll search this place."
"You sure you can handle it?"
"If I can't, I'll be saying goodbye to my head tomorrow—and I just got a fresh haircut," he smirked, forcing himself up.
This time—
he stayed on his feet.
Barely.
I stepped in front of him and let him lean on me.
He didn't argue.
He knew he couldn't move on his own after opening two passages—
one through the wall—
and one through the fence ahead.
He placed his hands over mine again.
Released a stream of force.
The first breach—
he faltered.
I held him up.
The second—
he collapsed completely, dead weight on my back.
He was heavy.
Too heavy.
For a second, my legs almost gave out.
But the voices—
getting closer—
pushed me forward.
Step by step—
until we reached the trees.
I lowered him against a trunk.
Made sure we were hidden.
Then nearly dropped myself—
but caught on something.
Instead of collapsing—
I went face-first into the dirt, barely holding back a groan.
"What the hell—" I muttered.
Then I saw it.
A leg.
Brand-new sneaker.
"…You've got to be kidding me."
The leg belonged to Silius.
Unconscious.
Flat on the ground.
I crawled over, checked his pulse.
Alive.
Good.
I hauled him up—
propped him against another tree.
"Let's hope you both wake up before sunrise," I muttered, leaning against a third trunk. "Otherwise I'm screwed."
Exhaustion hit all at once.
I closed my eyes—
listening.
I couldn't relax completely.
If the search spread beyond the perimeter—
we were dead.
But as the voices faded—
so did the tension.
We made it.
Somehow.
And still—
disappointment gnawed at me.
After everything—
I got nothing.
My conscience stirred somewhere in the back of my mind.
That wasn't what I should be thinking about.
My stupid decisions could've gotten someone killed.
Well…
one person.
Silius didn't count.
No one asked him to come.
But if he hadn't—
A chill ran through me.
"Sometimes I think you don't have even the most basic sense of logic," a quiet voice said.
I flinched and opened my eyes.
"How the hell did you even find me?" I asked, pushing myself up as Silius stared me down.
"When you stop answering my calls, experience tells me something's wrong," he said coldly. "You went to Torrent, Kristina, Taisha—but didn't think to come to me first. Are you an idiot?"
"Hey! I was trying to figure something out—"
"Yeah. And Storik played along like a fool," he cut in. "You're one thing—but him? No. I genuinely don't understand what either of you were thinking."
"I was thinking," Andrew rasped, "that stopping him would've been impossible. You think if I hadn't gone with him, he would've dropped it?"
"Andrew! How are you?" I rushed over.
"Could be better."
"It would've been worse if I hadn't made it in time," Silius said, pushing himself to his feet. "We need to leave. We shouldn't be seen here—not after the chaos in that building."
"He's right," Storik said, steadying himself. "Today's going to be rough. By the way, how did you—"
"Later," Clyde cut him off.
Andrew nodded, giving him a thoughtful look.
"For what it's worth," I muttered, "I was acting with the best intentions."
Two unimpressed looks shut me up instantly.
I wrapped an arm around Andrew—
and we moved in silence,
back toward the academy.