Step one: find the system that controls the cuffs.


    Stormspear. Why did the old Espirian clans get all the cool names? Trengsen meant ‘blood poem,’ hinting at his ancestors’ strategic battle prowess. But most people wouldn’t know that unless they spoke High Imperial Shokenese.


    Great. Impersonating the IT staff might work on the gullible old ladies at school, but that wouldn’t work on the Martials. Then again . . .


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Step two: find a weakness in the system.


    Step three: get access to a computer.


    Seriously? His clan name was Yacksbane? How had she gone to this school for three years and never heard that? And what in Talek’s name had his ancestors done to that poor yack?


    Look for Alec,” Kalden had said in his last message. “He’s the guard who escorted you to our first meeting.”


    Thirty minutes. Akari had dealt with worse constraints when she’d snuck in here between classes. In many ways, she’d spent an entire semester preparing for this exact moment.