Elias’s POV

The night pressed in close.

Aurelion Academy was never truly quiet, but after curfew, it pretended to be. The corridors hummed faintly with power lines buried under steel. The light panels dimmed to half-strength. Beyond the dorms, the glass hallways overlooked a city that glittered cold and endless, a cage pretending to be a skyline.

And still, I couldn’t breathe.

My collar had started to vibrate faintly again, a low, warning buzz just under the skin. It wasn’t supposed ...