SELENE
The morning after the second Lunar Trial came faster than I expected. The academy grounds were quieter than usual, like the whole campus was still catching its breath.
Students walked around with tired faces and slow steps, small groups gathered here and there still talking about what had happened in the forest. I sat on a bench near the main path with a water bottle in my hands, drinking slowly and letting the cool morning air settle around me, my body still ached in places I hadn't expected, but my mind felt surprisingly clear.
The way Kael and I had worked together kept playing back in my head. The way we had moved without having to think too hard about it, adjusting to each other naturally, covering each other's gaps like we had been doing it for years. It had felt like a re
