The afternoon lectures finally dragged to a close.
As the bell chimed, I let Kyle ramble on about the unfairness of our new homework while we walked back to the first-year dormitories, giving him a half-hearted nod before slipping into my own room.
I shut the heavy wooden door of my room behind me, instantly twisting the brass lock until it clicked.
And let out a long, heavy exhale, the suffocating academic mask finally dropping from my face. I tossed my uniform jacket onto the back of the chair and sat down on the edge of my bed.
My mind was still racing, meticulously cataloging the pages of merchant guild charters and tax loopholes I had memorized in the civil archives.
I had the blueprint to dismantle Marcus's family, but executing it from inside the strict confines of the Academy was going to be an absolute nightmare. I needed an outside operative.
Raising my left hand, lightly swiping the silver band of my spatial ring.
