Chapter 102 - The Vanguard Project

The departure of the Royal carriage was as silent as its arrival had been loud. Lady Elara left before the sun had fully cleared the eastern peaks, her mission of mediation complete. The King's seal was once again a distant memory, replaced by the immediate, gritty reality of a school that had been starved for a week. I stood on the battlements, watching the silver-and-blue silks of the horses disappear into the mist of the valley. Beside me, Merek leaned against a crenelation, his silver rod tucked into his belt. He was dressed for travel—a heavy, dark traveling cloak and sturdy boots. He looked like a man who had seen too many ends of stories and was tired of the paperwork involved in all of them.