Chapter 53: Mother-In-Law
(Cassandra's POV)
The quiet shuffling of feet echoed through the grand assembly hall as students filed in, their nervous energy forming an almost palpable cloud. The morning assembly was always a tense affair after sacred trials, but today it buzzed with an added intensity. Whispers filled the air, speculation bouncing off every corner of the room.
"Do you think Charles broke 700 this time?"
"I heard Emma barely passed—again."
"Did you see Cassandra in the trials? Never raised a sweat!"
I remained seated near the back, my posture perfectly relaxed. Emma stood beside me, fidgeting nervously, her brown eyes scanning the crowd with poorly hidden anxiety.
"You’re calm," she remarked, her whisper barely audible above the murmur of voices. "Weren’t you ner
