Elowen POV
There is a moment before something changes.
You don’t see it at first.
You feel it.
Like pressure in the air before a storm breaks.
Camp felt like that this week.
Not tense.
Not hostile.
Just… charged.
Second-year trainees were being evaluated for advancement tracks. Some would lean further into diplomacy. Some into combat specialization. Some into oversight.
And a few of us —
Into cross-discipline leadership.
That’s what they called it.
I called it balancing fire with water.
I was grinding dried frostroot when the announcement came.
“All trainees report to the central yard.”
Alden appeared in the healer doorway without knocking.
“They’re sorting tracks early,” he said.
“That’s not scheduled until winter.”
“I know.”
We walked together.
Not as children traili
