The Grand Academy's main hall was a cathedral of controlled chaos. The air was thick with the smell of parchment, melted candle wax, and the metallic tang of sharpened steel.
Maps were spread across massive oak tables like battlefields waiting to be bled upon, and the constant murmur of officers discussing troop movements created a low-grade hum of anxiety that vibrated through the stone floor.
Valentina stood at the center of this storm, her face a mask of strategic calculation. When Elliot and Evelyn appeared in the doorway, the mask cracked.
For a fleeting second, her composed features softened with a relief so unguarded it was almost painful to witness.
"You've returned," Valentina said, rising from her seat, her voice carrying across the hall. "I had wondered if the darkness swallowing Aethelgard would reach you before you could make it home."
