Page 92 of Legacy Elite

No sign anybody went through anything except that one drawer, which had, when it was finally opened by someone with gloves on, a phone charger, a broken pair of sunglasses, and a Christmas card from my aunt.

The building's access records show the residents who live here, in and out, all day, doing nothing surprising. The desk was staffed from seven until six with one twenty-minute gap at lunch, which they are extremely unhappy about and which I now understand will end somebody's employment.

And the north stairwell fire door does not latch, and has not latched, apparently for some time.

"So that's how they got in," I say.

"That's how somebody could get in," the security officer says. "There's nothing on that door to say anyone did. It's a hole in the building. I can't tell you it's the hole they used."

"How many holes are there?"

He doesn't answer that, which is an answer.

"Whoever it was knew which room," he says instead. "And knew you'd be out."

"I was at training. I'm at training every day at four."

Voss, who has been standing against the wall saying nothing this entire time, speaks for the first time.

"Every day at four," he repeats.

"Yeah."

"Since October."

"Yeah."

He and Falken look at each other and neither of them says the obvious thing out loud, so I say it for them.

"Everybody knows where I am at four o'clock."

Luke arrives, and the room changes.

He comes in already knowing — Sophia texted, or the bond, or both — and he crosses to me and puts a hand on my face for about a second and a half, and then he goes and looks at the card in its sleeve.

And I watch Luke Draeven turn into somebody else.

He gets calmer. His voice comes down about a third and every single sentence out of him becomes an instruction, and he starts issuing them to a room containing the Chancellor of this academy and two security professionals, and the terrible thing is that they all start answering him.

"She's not sleeping here. I want the north stair secured tonight, not tomorrow — put someone on it until the latch is replaced, and then have someone walk every other door in this building and tell me how many more of those there are. I want every key that opens this corridor accounted for by morning. Every one, including whatever's in a drawer in your office. I want the desk covered continuously with no gap at lunch. I'll have my father's office notify Council security tonight, which will be faster than going through—"

"Luke."

"—the academy channel, and until we know how they knew her schedule, she doesn't keep a fixed one. Training moves. Times change daily. Nothing published—"

"Luke."

He stops. Looks at me.

"You don't get to decide where I'm sleeping," I say.

"Someone got into your bedroom."

"I noticed."

"Then you understand why—"

"I understand exactly why." I fold my arms. "That's not the part I'm objecting to and you know it isn't."