None of them slept well that night.
Mostly because the situation had stopped being theoretical.
When families started using their own children as leverage, the game had moved into dangerous territory. Vesper met Ronan again the next morning. This time in the Academy greenhouse.
It was the quietest place on campus.
Plants didn't care about politics.
Ronan stood near a row of bioluminescent vines; hands shoved deep into his pockets.
"You shouldn't have come," he said when she entered.
"You asked for coffee."
"That was before my family tried to recruit me into sabotage," he said. "That does complicate things."
He huffed a laugh.
"You're handling this better than I expected."
"I've had a strange month." He looked at her. "You're not angry."
She shrugged slightly.
"Not at you."
"That's generous."
"No," she said. "It's practical."
He studied her carefully.
"You really don't think I'm involved?" he asked. "No."
"Why?"
She tilted her head slightly.
"Because if you were, you wouldn't have looked that miserable yesterday."
He smiled faintly.
"That's comforting."
Footsteps approached. Aurelio. He stopped when he saw them.
Not surprised.
Just… assessing.
Ronan sighed. "Ah. Perfect."
Vesper glanced between them.
"Please don't do whatever this is."
Aurelio folded his arms.
"I wasn't planning to."
"That's reassuring," Ronan muttered.
Silence stretched for a moment.
Then Aurelio spoke quietly.
"My family has suspected Hale involvement in Null funding for years."
Ronan nodded slowly.
"Same."
Vesper blinked.
"You suspected your own family?"
"Not like this," he said.
"But we knew something was wrong."
Kael's voice drifted in from behind them.
"That's because it is."
Everyone turned.
Lyra, Valentina, Cassian, and Dorian followed behind him like an investigative parade.
Lyra waved cheerfully.
"We brought snacks and conspiracy theories."
Dorian added dryly, "Mostly snacks."
Cassian held up a tablet.
"We ran the amplifier through resonance modeling."
"And?" Aurelio asked.
Cassian's expression darkened.
"It isn't designed for the Academy."
Everyone went quiet.
Valentina stepped closer.
"Then where?"
Cassian rotated the display.
A map appeared.
Highlighted coordinates.
Right beneath Orsini Tower.
Aurelio went still.
"That's our central helix relay."
Kael nodded.
"If that detonates, it doesn't just collapse power."
He looked at Vesper.
"It destabilizes the entire Orsini genetic resonance network."
Ronan swallowed.
"My family wants to cripple yours."
Aurelio shook his head slowly. "No."
He looked at the amplifier again.
"They want to destroy us."
Silence fell.
Lyra broke it immediately.
"Well," she said brightly, "this is escalating."
Valentina pinched the bridge of her nose.
"We're stopping it."
Kael looked at Ronan.
"You're still the one they expect to plant it."
Ronan sighed. "Yeah."
Aurelio met his gaze.
"Then we turn the trap around."
Vesper felt the shift immediately.
The moment the board flipped.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
Kael smiled slightly.
"We let them think their plan is working."
Lyra clapped once. "Oh good."
Everyone looked at her. She grinned. "I love extremely dangerous plans."