The window.
Small. Decorative. The kind meant to provide natural light rather than serve as an actual exit. Currently open just enough to allow a thread of outside air to disturb the climate-controlled environment.
Shuyin crossed to it, her mind already calculating possibilities. The window was narrow but not impossibly so. A slim twelve-year-old could fit through it if properly motivated.
Or properly coerced.
Or unconscious and being manipulated by an external force.
She examined the sill with chilling attention to detail. Fresh...
She examined the sill with chilling attention to detail. Fresh scuff marks, recent enough that the paint dust hadn't settled yet. And there, barely visible unless you knew to look, a smear of dark fabric residue. Possibly from clothing being dragged across the painted surface.
Shuyin's consciousness expanded outward automatically, using her mermaid senses to navigate hostile environments.
Searching for Yuyan's distinctive energy signature.
There.
