Jasmin's POV
The mattress pressed against my aching shoulder as I made my way down the corridor toward my dormitory room. Every muscle in my body protested with each step, my worn boots creating soft echoes against the cold stone floor. Yet my thoughts were consumed by something far more unsettling than physical discomfort. Isla's cutting remarks still rang in my ears, Harris's unexpected arrival at the Academy haunted my mind, and the looming reality of sharing quarters with Max made my stomach twist into knots.
An eerie silence had settled over the Academy halls. Why wasn't there any buzz about my supposed identity reveal? Had Max kept his mouth shut? The possibility both confused and terrified me. Was he simply toying with me during our last encounter? Maybe his suspicions weren't as concrete as I'd feared. Perhaps he was fishing for information without any real evidence. Or worse, maybe I was losing my mind over nothing while he remained completely oblivious to my true nature.
