Chapter 116

Elodie

The knock came before dawn.

Not the gentle bell that usually signaled morning assembly.

This was sharper. Deliberate.

Three knocks.

Authority.

I was already awake. Lying still. Counting breaths. Lysa was coiled tight inside me, alert in the way a blade is alert—silent, deadly, waiting.

Randy was on his feet the moment the door opened.

Two guards stood there, faces blank.

“Elodie,” one said. “You’re to come with us.”

Randy stepped forward. ...