The night air was comfortably cool as we crossed the sprawling Academy courtyard, leaving the medical hall far behind us.
We had just parted ways with the others near the central fountain. Kyle was still practically vibrating with excitement over his tenth-place finish, already loudly planning what he was going to eat in the new mess hall, while Sira and Tobias had bickered all the way toward the second-floor stairwells.
Because of the finalized Mid-Term rankings, the Academy had immediately relocated us to the Elite Dormitory.
The building's layout was a stark, unapologetic monument to the school's strict meritocracy. The expansive ground floor was dedicated entirely to a high-end mess hall and a plush, heavily warded common lounge. The second floor housed ranks six through ten.
And the top floor was exclusively reserved for the top five.
Which meant both Emma and I were heading to the exact same hallway.
