The carriage was a cage of tense, uncomfortable silence.
It was a large, functional vehicle, designed to transport academy students on official business.
Ten of them sat inside, arranged in pairs on opposite benches.
Azrael looked out of the window.
He cast a glance across the aisle.
Kaelen was seated somewhere near Seraphina.
Elvara sat next to Isolde further down the aisle. Elvara appeared nervous while the princess simply smiled, analyzing all present with an impassive air.
Toward the rear of the cabin, Lyra was talking to Orion, the two of them in hushed and serious tones.
He then looked at the person sitting beside him. Selvara.
He muttered under his breath, a quiet sigh of frustration. "Why does it always have to be me who gets dragged into all this?"
Selvara turned her head, her ice-blue eyes fixing on him. "You ran into another problem, huh?"
He didn't respond, just kept his gaze fixed on the passing trees.
