OPERATION WINTERSPINE (Strings Between Us Book 2)

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

Of course he didn't. The report was fresh. The wounds it reopened, even fresher. He couldn't afford to be seen. Not yet. Not with half of his Council possibly implicated. Not after the Festival betrayal—when they turned on him once before.

But it wasn't just about politics anymore.

His pulse hadn't settled since sunrise.

It was trembling. Fractured. Like the edges of something ancient and breaking.

But it wasn't just about school politics anymore. His pulse hadn't settled since sunrise. It was trembling, fractured, like the edges of something ancient and breaking.

If he stayed in that state too long, Echo-9 might slip.

Again.

Lyle and Xythe aren't here either. They're probably with Headmaster Antonio right now, going over plans tied to the school board crisis—and figuring out how to stop Supreme Allievo Academy from falling apart altogether.

That, and... well, SAA is officially under Ardent Court protection now.

It's a directive we received just yesterday from Headmaster Lazaro of Celestine—also known as the real commander of the Ardent Court. But we're not allowed to tell anyone about that. Not yet. Only Headmaster Antonio knows. For now, it stays strictly between the two of them.

Our Literature professor began the session. Something about symbolism in post-war poetry. I barely heard it. My fingers tightened around my pen as I stared at my empty notes.

I needed to find him.

Before they did.

The moment our class ended, I went outside as fast as I could. I need to check on KD. I need to make sure he's not echo slipping again. He's been dreaming of his past—without him actually knowing it was his past. He just thought it was weird. He's been telling me that, and that scared the hell out of me. And that made the Ardent Court in full alert mode.

Plus there's Rowan Lopez—one confirmed Halcyon Pact ally. High Chamber Council member.

Seb said that Rowan Lopez isn't real. Not fully. He's a failsafe. Engineered with psychological imprint codes tied to Echo-9's neural profile which is KD.

He also said it was called—PROJECT: ROWAN
Not a weapon. Not a soldier. A contingency. He exists to end Lucem. To kill Echo-9—if Echo-9 ever remembers he was one of them.

And I will not let them kill KD. Not in our watch. The moment they chose him as their failsafe—their final trigger, their contingency-killer buried beneath fake memories and encoded trauma—they made it personal.

They marked him like a forgotten weapon.

But KD is not a weapon.

He's a person.

He's mine.

"Ari." Seb's voice cut through my earrings like a blade—sharp, focused.

My boots skidded against the hallway tile.

"Keryn and I just spotted three unidentified students—Imperial Wing, second level. Their gait's trained. They're enhanced. Moving fast—like they know the blind spots."

My stomach twisted into a hard knot.

I didn't need more than that.

Intruders. Inside SAA. Targeting KD.

"Are you tracking them?" I asked, already accelerating.

"We're splitting. Keryn's sweeping the upper halls. I'm tailing them through Corridor 4. They're scrambled—Veil distortions across all three signatures."