SELENE
The first Bond Trial started at midnight, not at sundown like the Lunar Trials or outside beneath lanterns and banners and faculty members pretending to look calm while students tried not to panic in neat little lines.
This one took place in the old stone hall at the back of the academy grounds, the building everyone passed but almost nobody entered. I had walked past it countless times without ever seeing the doors open.
Tonight they stood wide, torches lined the path leading to the entrance, their flames burning low and orange against the dark. Smoke curled lazily into the cold air, carrying the sharp scent of ash and old wood.
Kael was waiting for me outside, he leaned near the doorway with his hands in his pockets, jacket dark against the stone wall behind him. His attentio
