Rosalind led Catalina through another stone archway and into an even larger courtyard, this one alive with the rhythm of academy life.
Students crossed the open square carrying stacks of books, training weapons strapped across their backs or hanging at their hips. Conversations drifted through the cool evening air in dozens of overlapping voices. Somewhere nearby a bell rang, deep and resonant, sending small groups hurrying toward different buildings while others lingered beneath sprawling oak trees that had clearly stood here almost as long as the academy itself.
No one paid Catalina much attention.
A few curious glances followed her as she passed, but they disappeared almost as quickly as they came. She wasn't the center of anyone's world here.
She was simply...
New.
Oddly enough,
