Evaline:
Returning to the academy felt… strange at first. Not because I didn't belong there, but because a part of me had changed.
Something inside me had shifted after everything that happened with Damian. It wasn't loud or obvious, it didn't scream for attention, but it was there, steady and undeniable.
And yet…
The moment I stepped back through those familiar gates, something else happened too.
The weight lifted, though not completely, not all at once, but enough for me to breathe easier.
Enough for me to feel like I could finally move forward.
And the academy, it didn't give me much time to dwell on anything anyway.
Because just as the winter break ended, the professors decided to remind us all that peace was temporary.
Assignments, group projects, presentations, tests, and trials filled our schedules. It felt like they had stored everything up during the holidays just to unleash it all at once.
