Aria’s POV

The trial ended just as the sky outside was bleeding from black into gray. Nobody said a word when the headmaster dismissed us; we just scattered like survivors of a shipwreck.

My legs carried me back to the dorm with Caspian at my side, though neither of us spoke. The silence wasn’t comfortable, and it wasn’t angry either—it was that weird middle ground where your brain is still replaying everything at high speed and your mouth hasn’t caught up.

I was busy telling ...