LYRA

Two days felt like both an eternity and no time at all, every hour dragged by with excruciating slowness while simultaneously rushing toward the Trial of Origin faster than I could prepare for. The entire residential wing buzzed with tension, you could feel it in the air like wind before a storm, everyone walking on edges they couldn't see and waiting for the moment when everything would explode.

Contestants whispered in clusters about what secrets might be revealed tomorrow, what ...