OPERATION WINTERSPINE (Strings Between Us Book 2)

CHAPTER THIRTY: OF FRAGILE CONTROL, FAILED SYSTEMS, AND THE CODED

CHAPTER THIRTY: OF FRAGILE CONTROL, FAILED SYSTEMS, AND THE CODED THING THAT WANTED KD DEAD

Riyee's POV

One of the things I currently despise about the Supreme Allievo Academy—aside from the vending machines and the ever-present threat of assassination—is the "merged class" system.

Like seriously. Who does that?

They spent months splitting us up based on "academic compatibility" and "behavioral alignment," only to shove us all into a single oversized lecture hall like intellectual cattle. Fewer class sections, more chaotic merged sessions.

"Efficient," they said.

I say: crowded, noisy, and strategically disastrous.

The moment I stepped into Veritas Hall, I felt it.

Cold.

Not the aircon kind. Not December-in-the-Philippines kind either. (We're not in December yet. It's just freaking September.) This was deeper—a pressure drop that curled through your ribs and made your spine stiffen like ice had been injected into your lungs.

A blizzard had been here.

Clue: Khaizer Dylan Dela Vega.

I didn't need to see him. His pulse reached me minutes before I even got close. His Elarin band is flaring. KD was angry. Raging, actually.

"Rielle!" Jodie's voice made me blink. She was standing near our usual row—hands twitching, eyes wide. "You're late. You didn't see what happened."

Xylia spun in her seat like an alarm siren. "Girl, he was mad. Like, Ice President levels of mad—but loud."

I raised an eyebrow. "What happened?"

Jodie leaned in like she was telling a ghost story. "Khazier got a report. High Chamber Council members—some of them—were involved in illegal activities. Real shady stuff. And guess what? Some School Board members too. Corruption. Conspiracy. It's bad, Rielle."

My mouth parted in mock shock.

Internally? I rolled my eyes.

We already knew.

Two nights ago, we had an emergency debriefing in the Sigil Heart Hall. Lyle personally handled over the compiled report—neatly encrypted, cross-referenced, and damning. Tofer and Seb had flagged the patterns, Alexie traced the fund redirections, and Thres dug up enough physical evidence to scare half the Board into early retirement.

Lyle gave the full file to the Headmaster. Tofer sent the copies to KD–encrypted, unknown sender. But not all of it. Some names were missing—specifically, four High Chamber members Tofer identified as possible Halcyon Pact allies.

That part? Court eyes only. For now. Because we can't tell that to KD. We can't take a risk.

"And now the school's imploding," Xylia muttered. "Great."

"So SAA is shutting down?" I asked, keeping my tone careful.

Xylia shrugged. "Probably not. But damage control's coming. They'll host some PR-cleaning activities. Council speeches. Community drives. Christmas tree lighting ceremonies. Christmas Festivals. Stuff like that."

"Typical Supreme Allievo Academy—the campus version of Saichel Levesque," I murmured.

"And it's the Christmas season," Jodie sighed. "You just know it's going to get worse before it gets better. Your boyfriend's going to be a walking stress migraine."

I didn't answer.

Not because she was wrong. Because she was too right.

KD hadn't shown up to class.