The Athenaeum in the hour before curfew was a different creature than its daytime self.
The corridors had shed their bustling energy, the crowds of students melting away into dormitories and study rooms, leaving behind only the soft echo of footsteps on stone and the distant, muffled sounds of life behind closed doors.
Magelights had dimmed to a warm, amber glow, casting long shadows that stretched and shifted with each passing breath. Through the tall windows, the last traces of twilight were fading into deep blue, the first stars just beginning to prick through the winter sky.
Cecilia walked alone in it. She wondered where her husbands were. She had told them she needed to do something alone, but when she returned to the Athenaeum, they weren't there.
She had checked everywhere. The cafeteria, the student council office, the library…
