Chapter 115

Elodie

By the third morning, fear had settled into the academy like a second fog.

It clung to the walls, to the training grounds, to the quiet spaces where laughter used to live. No one spoke loudly anymore. Even the confident ones—the loud, reckless students who used to brag about their strength—had gone quiet, their eyes darting toward the Council whenever robes appeared in the distance.

Empty beds filled the dormitory.

Some belonged to students who had failed and been ...