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Aria's POVThe silence that followed Aldrin's revelation was broken by something I didn't expect.Laughter.My laughter.Not from the duplicate standing across from me, but from me. Genuine, slightly hysterical laughter that bubbled up from somewhere deep in my chest."You know what?" I said, wiping tears from my eyes as I stood up. "That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard."Aldrin blinked, clearly not expecting this reaction. "I beg your pardon?""Memory implantation. Artificial personality construction. Perfect duplicates." I gestured around the room. "Do you have any idea how insanely complex that would be?""The technology exists—""Does it? Because I'm looking at my supposed 'duplicate' and noticing some pretty significant flaws in your perfect replacement theory."I walked closer to the other Aria, studying her with the kind of attention I'd learned from months of observing Academy politics."For instance," I continued, "she's standing with perfect posture. I have a ten
Aria's POVThe technical services building was exactly as abandoned as we'd hoped—which should have been our first warning that something was wrong.Hayes disabled the security system with the kind of efficiency that came from years of Academy experience, while Caspian and I provided lookout. The communication array was housed in a concrete structure that looked more like a bunker than an academic facility, surrounded by equipment I didn't recognize and cables thick enough to power a small city."How long do you need?" I asked Riven as he examined the broadcast equipment."Ten minutes to bypass their safeguards. Another five to upload our message to every communication device on Academy grounds.""And if they try to cut us off?""They can't. Not without shutting down their entire emergency system, which would violate about fifteen different safety protocols."It was almost too easy. Which should have triggered every survival instinct I'd developed over the past few months.Instead, I
Aria's POVPlanning a war against your own mother while hiding in an abandoned ranger station wasn't exactly covered in any leadership training I'd ever received. But then again, most leadership training probably didn't account for discovering that your primary parental figure was orchestrating your systematic elimination."First priority," I said, spreading out Hayes's hand-drawn map of the Academy grounds, "is disrupting their timeline. They're planning to eliminate all targets within seventy-two hours. We need to make that impossible.""How do we disrupt a timeline when we don't know all the moving pieces?" Riven asked."We create chaos that forces them to react instead of act. Make them respond to our moves instead of following their careful plan.""That's incredibly dangerous," Hayes pointed out. "If we force them into reactive mode, they might accelerate the elimination schedule.""Or they might make mistakes. Reveal weaknesses we can exploit.""You're betting all our lives on t
Aria's POVThe walk back to the ranger station passed in a blur of numbness and disbelief. Every step felt mechanical, like my body was moving through muscle memory while my mind tried to process the impossible truth I'd just witnessed.My mother wanted me dead.Not just dead—eliminated as part of a systematic restructuring of Lycan society. A restructuring she was orchestrating."Aria." Caspian's voice seemed to come from very far away. "We need to tell the others what we learned."I nodded without really hearing him. The details of the meeting replayed in my head on an endless loop. My mother's clinical tone as she discussed termination protocols. The casual way she'd condemned Caspian to death for the crime of caring about me.The ranger station came into view, warm light spilling from the windows where Hayes, Riven, and Lyra waited for our return. They looked up expectantly as we entered, ready to hear what intelligence we'd gathered.I sat down heavily on one of the makeshift ben
Aria's POVGetting close to the Academy administrative building without being detected required every stealth skill I'd learned during months of sneaking around campus. The difference was that now I was approaching from the outside, moving through forest terrain in complete darkness, with the knowledge that discovery meant immediate elimination.No pressure.Caspian moved beside me with the silent efficiency of someone trained for this kind of operation. Behind us, Hayes provided overwatch while Riven and Lyra maintained position at the forest edge—ready to create a distraction if our reconnaissance went wrong.The east side of the administrative building was exactly as I'd remembered: tall windows facing the tree line, with Conference Room Seven clearly visible on the third floor. Light spilled from the windows, indicating the meeting was already in progress."Can you see how many people?" Caspian whispered as we positioned ourselves behind a cluster of trees that provided cover whil
Aria's POVThe abandoned ranger station had exactly one working piece of technology: an old emergency communication device that Hayes discovered tucked behind a stack of supply crates. It looked like it hadn't been used in years, but when he managed to get it functioning, we suddenly had access to Academy emergency frequencies."This is incredibly risky," he warned as he adjusted the antenna. "If they're monitoring for unauthorized transmissions—""They'll find us anyway if we stay blind to their movements," I interrupted. "We need to know what they're planning."The device crackled to life, filling the small room with static and fragmented conversations. Most of it was routine Academy business—patrol schedules, maintenance requests, the kind of mundane chatter that kept an institution running.But then we heard something that made everyone freeze."—Council Representatives arriving at 0300 hours—""—secure perimeter around Conference Room Seven—""—no Academy personnel below Level Fi