"In politics, knowledge is a weapon sharper than any blade."

The academy felt different the morning after the announcement. Students moved in tight clusters, voices pitched low. Watching each other. Measuring. Everyone trying to figure out who'd make a useful ally and who'd stick a knife in their back first chance they got.

I couldn't sleep. Gave up trying around dawn and slipped out of the dorms while most were still unconscious. The stone corridors were cooler at this hour, quieter. ...