{Elira}
~**^**~
Some minutes later, the assembly broke apart in a tide of chatter and footsteps, but I moved through it like I was underwater.
My friends clustered around me, their voices hushed but urgent.
"This is madness," Juniper muttered, hugging her notebook to her chest. "They can't seriously expect you to fight."
"Exactly," Nari added, glaring as though the Vice Chancellor herself could hear her. "Elira should be sitting in the audience with the rest of us, sipping lemonade and judging people's outfits, not—" She cut herself off with a frustrated wave of her hands.
Cambria walked quietly at my side, her eyes soft but clouded with thought. "There has to be a way to protect you," she said gently.
Only Tamryn stayed silent, her lips pressed tight, her eyes darting between me and the path ahead.
The closer we got to the dorms, the more their words pressed against me, heavy as stones.
