SELENE
THREE DAYS LATER
The third Lunar Trial started at sundown, we gathered on the wide field behind the east wing in two long lines, students pulling jackets tighter against the cooling air, voices low and restless.
The moon was already visible, pale and patient above the tree line, waiting for the sky to darken enough to give it full presence. I stood in my spot near the middle of the line and rolled my good shoulder slowly.
The bandaged one I left still. It had healed more than expected over the last few days, but I wasn't going to push it.
Professor Harlan stood at the front with two other faculty members flanking him. He let the noise die down on its own before he spoke.
"Tonight's trial tests awareness," he said. "You will move through a marked course in the forest. The ob
