Octavia's Point of View
The cursor blinks on my laptop screen, taunting me with the half finished sentence in my notes. I stare at the page, I reread the same line of text three times, and still, nothing sticks. My pen twirls between my fingers, the soft hum of the dorm’s ceiling fan doing little to help my concentration.
Every time I close my eyes, I smell it again, that faint, smoky scent clinging to the academy grounds. The same one that lingered in the ashes at Noctwyn. The same one that makes the hair at the back of my neck rise.
I exhale, leaning back in my chair and rubbing my temples. Focus, Octavia.
The soft chime of a video call cuts through my thoughts. My laptop screen flickers, and my father’s face appears, Alpha Jordan Fray, looking as composed and authoritative as ever,
