The night air outside the Grand Dining Hall felt cooler than it should have. The great chandeliers dimmed behind them, their glow replaced by the soft, suspended orbs of lamplight strung along the walkways.
The Academy grounds stretched wide and quiet—stone paths winding through manicured courtyards, the distant hum of mana wards pulsing like a steady heartbeat beneath the cobblestones.
Marian stretched her arms overhead as they stepped out beneath the open sky, letting out a sigh that was far too dramatic to be genuine. "Finally! I thought I'd turn into furniture if I sat there any longer."
"You were sitting for barely an hour," Selphine said, her stride measured, hands folded neatly behind her back.
"Exactly my point," Marian replied with a grin. "Humans weren't made for restraint."
"Some of us were," Aurelian murmured, brushing invisible dust from his sleeve. "We just evolved faster than the rest."
Mireilla gave him a look. "You mean you were born like this?"
