Chapter 26: A Voice Not Her Own
It started with one sentence. Familiar. Too familiar. Spoken with her cadence, her softness. Her words — but not her voice. And from there, nothing sounded right again.
Tessa Rye had always believed in people.
That didn't mean she trusted easily. She was careful, trained, observant. But beneath all the data pads, therapy modules, and carefully-coded handbooks, she held a quiet conviction: people wanted to do the right thing — even if they didn't know how.
It was why she healed.
Why she'd joined the Academy, despite knowing what it cost her family.
Why she believed Rook Vale wasn't a lost cause.
But tonight?
Tonight she wasn't sure she knew who she believed in anymore.
She found Ava on the rooftop just past midnight.
The upper-level dorms were silent — most students asleep, a few snoring, some still running last-minute drills or surfing holo-feeds. The air was cold, the wind dry, carrying the scent of sterilized concrete and ozone from the training towers nearby.
Ava Spire stood near the ledge, leaning forward slightly, her ponytail whipping behind her like a flag. She didn't look surprised when Tessa stepped onto the rooftop.