Victor was summoned to the principal's office before he'd even finished breakfast.
The message came through one of the younger staff members, a nervous-looking woman who delivered it like she expected him to argue. He didn't. He'd been half expecting this since the moment they walked back through the academy gates the night before.
The office itself was larger than he remembered, wood-paneled and lined with framed commendations from wars Victor knew nothing about. The principal sat behind a heavy desk, an older man with steel-gray hair and the kind of stillness that came from decades of not needing to raise his voice to be obeyed.
Samuel stood off to one side, arms crossed, expression unreadable.
"Sit," the principal said.
Victor sat.
"I've read the reports from yesterday's expedition. Twice, actually, because the first time through I assumed some of it had to be exaggerated."
"It wasn't."
