Outside, it was quiet.

Then-like a signal no one spoke aloud-the seniors lifted their arms.

Hundreds of ravens burst upward in one sweeping motion, black wings slicing through moonlight. The air throbbed with sound-feathers, laughter, shouts.

For a moment, every face turned skyward.

Even Baron looked up.

The night shimmered beneath the flurry of movements.

Those birds carried more than parchment.

They carried proof that each cadet still believed there was a world with ...