Evaline:
I could hardly keep the excitement from bubbling over.
On the outside, I looked calm. Collected. Composed in the way I had learned to be over the past year - chin lifted, shoulders relaxed, expression carefully neutral. It was a skill I had picked up from my mates without even realizing it. A mask that hid chaos, anticipation, fear, and joy all at once.
Inside?
I was vibrating.
And the reason for it stood written on my schedule in neat, unforgiving ink:
Physical Combat - Instructor: Oscar Thorne.
It was friday morning and the fourth day of the new term.
It was also going to be our first official physical combat class at Silver Moon Academy.
And Oscar was going to be teaching us for the entire semester.
I had barely seen any of my mates since I returned to the Academy five days ago. River and Draven were away at the Thorne estate. As the headmaster, Kieran was buried in his duties and wouldn't even start his classes until the third week of term.
