The morning arrived in slow, creeping tendrils of pale dawn light filtering through the heavy curtains of the dormitory, casting ghostly patterns along the stone floor. I surfaced from restless sleep with a start, my body stiff, my mind tangled in remnants of the night before—whispers in the dark, the sharp gleam of blue-green eyes, the suffocating press of fear in the depths of that wretched bar.
For a long moment, I remained still beneath the weight of the blankets, listening to the faint rustling of branches against the glass, the distant echo of footsteps in the corridors beyond. The Academy was waking, slipping back into its orderly, seamless routine as though nothing had changed.
But something had.
I forced myself upright, wincing as my muscles protested. Every part of me felt wru
