Whispers immediately spread through the hall.
James frowned.
Sophie blinked.
Daphne crossed her arms.
Elizabeth became perfectly still.
Alash looked mildly offended.
The Hermit continued before anyone could interrupt.
"So did every professor watching."
The whispers stopped.
The faculty stiffened.
Professor Darius frowned.
"What exactly did we fail?"
The Hermit looked toward him.
"You expected them to choose."
"Choose what?"
"Who entered the Citadel."
Darius opened his mouth.
Then stopped.
Several professors exchanged looks.
Because they had.
The moment the capacity limit appeared, the faculty had begun calculating.
Students first.
Children first.
Strongest hundred.
Weakest hundred.
Healers.
Fighters.
Leaders.
Civilians.
Everyone had argued about who deserved one of the hundred protected spaces.
Not whether the choice itself needed to be accepted.
The Hermit looked back toward the students.
"Most systems offer choices."
