CAMELLIA'S POV
I sprinted through the Citadel's corridors, my footsteps echoing off the stone walls as I wove past scholars and assistants with their arms full of scrolls. I wasn't late—not yet—but I wanted to reach the study chamber before the headmaster arrived.
I quickened my pace, my breathing steady as the familiar route unfolded before me.
I was only a few strides from the chamber door when a voice called out behind me.
“Lia!”
I slowed to a stop and looked over my shoulder.
Ezra, one of the apprentices, stood in the middle of the hallway, panting, his arms overflowing with... everything. A basket of fresh bread, a bundle of eggs wrapped in cloth, and an unruly assortment of flowers and herbs threatened to spill from his grasp.
He looked like a walking market stall.
"Someone
