Sneaking out of the dorm was easy, and I thanked whatever luck had landed me a room on the first floor. All I had to do was open my window and slip out into the cool of the night. A night that felt too large and too dark. I found myself hesitating outside my own window, suddenly wanting nothing more than to crawl back into my tiny room and pretend none of this was happening. It made no sense. This had been my idea, after all. My impatience to talk to Regan face-to-face had me standing outside my dorm room after curfew, something that I’d never done before. It was against the rules, and I liked rules too much to break them all willy-nilly. I felt like I was wearing someone else’s skin, and it was a few sizes too small and made completely out of itchy wool. This wasn’t me. I didn’t carry incriminating evidence around under the insole of my right shoe. Evidence that could end my career and Regan’s in a heartbeat.

Thinking about that letter gave me goose bumps, and I shivered even though I was perfectly warm inside my green cadet sweatshirt. Finally, willing myself into action, I jogged silently down the path that led around the outer edge of the Academy next to the wall. Standing about thirty feet high and built of solid stone like something from medieval times, it wrapped around the entire campus. When it had originally been erected, some people had even compared it to the Great Wall of China, although that was pushing it a bit. Still, it was impressive, and it had a bike path built right next to it that Academy residents used regularly for exercise. Tonight, I was the only one on it. Even so, I made sure to keep to the shadows, my head on a constant swivel for a roaming security guard. When I’d demanded that Regan meet me tonight, I hadn’t really thought through it all. I’d been so focused on getting answers that I’d thrown all caution out the window, and I never threw caution out the window. Being out at night made me feel exposed and vulnerable in a way I’d never experienced before, and I didn’t like it. Not one bit.