Chapter 16

Aurora’s POV:

There’s something about the air today. It’s too still, too expectant. Like the sky itself is waiting for something to go wrong.

After the announcement, the entire school practically combusts with excitement. There are whispers in every hallway, speculation about the itinerary, what cities we’ll visit, and who’s rooming with who. It’s all anyone can talk about.

I try to care. I try to smile, nod, laugh at Cali’s jokes, but something inside me is still trembling from the blackout. From the spike. From Arc.

Jon, however, is practically glowing.

"You don’t understand," he says as we sit beneath a tree in the courtyard, late afternoon sun draping over us like a soft blanket. "I haven’t seen my mum in two months. Two bloody months."

His accent thickens when he talks about home, an……