Adrian moved like a shadow slipping out of the window, fingers finding the same narrow ledge he'd scaled in the dark. The air was damp with dew, the stone slick beneath his grip, but he made no sound as he slid along the outer wall toward the downspout he'd used to climb up.
In the yard below, the first hints of morning blurred the garden paths in a pale gray wash. A guard's flashlight swept lazily across the far end of the lawn, too distant to catch the figure pressed against the wall above. Adrian timed his descent between the slow turns of that beam, boots landing softly on the grass.
He crouched low, waiting for the patrolling guard to pass, then crossed the shadowed hedgerows and slipped through the gate's service entrance where Emily's earlier directions had marked a blind spot. By the time the next guard rounded the corner, the garden was empty again.
