The rest of the day passed like a duel fought in silence. Yegr went through drills, but his mind was on the strip of black cloth under Serra's sleeve. Every feint, every parry felt hollow when the real danger stood across the courtyard, smiling like nothing was wrong.
By the time the final bell rang, the Academy's stone corridors were awash in the gold of late afternoon. Darin was laughing with two other students by the stairwell, calling to Yegr about dinner plans, but Yegr waved him off.
He had one destination.
The Archives.
If Serra really was tied to the Shadowed Path this early, there had to be some trace — a meeting record, an unusual supply requisition, maybe even a coded letter. In his old life, he had never once suspected her. That mistake had cost lives.
The Archives were quiet, save for the scratch of a quill somewhere deeper in the stacks. Yegr found himself moving between the rows of shelves like he was stalking prey. His fingers brushed along the spines of books until he reached the section on inter-regional shipments and permissions.
It was there he found it — a sealed parchment with Serra's signature, requesting restricted herbs. Not healing herbs. Ones used in poisoncraft.
He barely had time to read the list before a voice came from behind him.
"You shouldn't be looking at that."
Yegr turned slowly.
Serra stood in the aisle, a shadow at her back from the fading light through the high windows. Her expression wasn't anger. It was… disappointment.
"I thought we trusted each other," she said softly.
Yegr weighed his options in the space of a heartbeat.
If he called her out here and now, others in the Archives might hear. It could end with her exposed — or it could end with him accused of slander, his credibility shattered before the real fight even began.
If he stayed quiet, he could watch her, learn more, maybe follow the thread to the heart of the Shadowed Path. But that meant letting her walk free, knowing she might be plotting a kill even tonight.
The space between them felt like a drawn bowstring.
"I do trust you," Yegr said finally, forcing the words. "That's why I came here — to know for sure."
Her gaze searched his face. Then she stepped closer, so close he could smell the faint scent of crushed sunleaf on her hands.
"Then be sure of this," she murmured. "There are things coming, Yegr. Bigger than you, bigger than me. When the storm hits, you'll have to choose a side. And I hope you choose right."
She walked past him, her footsteps fading into the hall.
Yegr let out a slow breath, parchment still warm in his grip.
He had made his choice — for now. He would watch. He would wait.
But in the pit of his stomach, he knew it was only a matter of time before Serra forced his hand.