Maya sat at the edge of her bed, fingers tapping rhythmically against her thigh as she stared at her communicator. The dormitory was quiet—far too quiet. The usual bustle of cadets moving through the halls, the faint murmurs of conversations, and even the distant hum of the academy's activity had been swallowed by the newly imposed restrictions.
Everything felt suffocating.
She hated feeling boxed in.
Her crimson-tinted gaze flickered toward the window. Beyond it, the academy sprawled under the artificial night sky, the glow of security drones patrolling the perimeters a constant reminder that movement was being watched.
"You don't have much of a choice."
Her other self's voice was steady, calm in its certainty. "If you want to see him, it has to be here."
Maya exhaled through her nose. "I know."
