Threshold III had been only one reception. Beyond its silver veils, three others had been unfolding at the same time.
The Academy had distributed familiar faces with enough care that few students could rely entirely upon people they already knew. Even the Linwen twins had been separated, an administrative decision Quenlin had received as a personal attack and Valen had described as evidence that the Academy possessed sound judgment.
Threshold I placed Caeden, Marian, and Valen inside the military-house reception, where Caeden adapted first with an ease that surprised almost nobody who knew him.
His assigned role was the son of a minor landed knight whose family possessed a long history of military service but little influence in the capital. The dossier gave him names, campaigns, old obligations, and enough details about the household to provide firm ground, and Caeden committed the relevant pieces to memory before entering.
