"Missed you too, Nyssira," Northern said, patting her head with genuine amusement.
Behind her, the room had erupted into motion.
Others crowded into the hallway—Ellis with that familiar intensity in his eyes, Shae with his auburn hair looking stunned, Ayuri Myu rising from a chair inside, Lennister's eyes widening as he processed Northern's presence, and even Erik, though Northern still couldn't quite place where he knew him from.
'Wait. They're all here? Just students?'
That was... odd. The distribution teams should have assigned at least one experienced Drifter to each group. This felt less like tactical deployment and more like someone had thrown all the academy kids together and hoped for the best.
"How are you here?" Ellis asked, stepping fully into the hallway since the room had grown too crowded. His voice carried equal parts relief and disbelief. "We just got audience with the King—he agreed to help us!"
