“You mean the one Callaway called a suicide mission?” I shook my head as my eyes flicked from building to building, recounting the classes I’d taken in them, the professors I’d met, the staff I’d befriended, and worst of all, the kids sleeping in their dorm rooms at that very moment. I’d be so much better at this if it were in the 1800s. I was seconds away from what was sure to be an impressive panic attack when Regan snapped her head up.

“Did you hear that?” she asked.

“Hear what? My brain screaming? Yeah, that’s coming in loud and clear, thanks.”

“Shhhh,” she said, flapping a hand at me, and then I heard it too. Someone was coming our way.

“We have to hide,” she whispered, her eyes wide.

“I forgot it’s past curfew,” I said, glancing back at the clock, which was ticking down with a speed that didn’t seem quite fair.

Regan shook her head, her eyes wide. “That’s not all,” she said. “Don’t you get it? We’re Butterflies now.” I was still processing this when she grabbed my hand and hauled me backward and into the shrubbery that edged the Academy Mall. There was a shout, and the slash of a flashlight followed us into the bushes. We’d been spotted.

Chapter Thirty

Regan

I wasn’t sure where I was leading us, but my main goal was to get some distance from the security guards. Elliot and I zigged and zagged down the campus paths, ducking through shrubbery and doubling back on ourselves whenever possible. This was so not a good start to things, and even as we ran, I couldn’t stop thinking about how much time this was wasting—time we didn’t have. We hurtled around a corner and skidded to a stop in front of the Trevi Fountain replica. I blinked at it for a second, confused. I could have sworn that we were on the opposite side of campus from this, but it didn’t matter now. Elliot was one step ahead of me, already vaulting over the edge of the fountain and into the water. I followed, and we tucked ourselves into the tiny maintenance bay we’d used the last time we were almost caught by security.