The morning after the results were posted Homeroom 1-A vibrated with a different kind of tension. The desperate suffocating silence of the exam week was gone. It was replaced by the restless kinetic energy of elite teenagers who were simply bored of sitting still.
Vane sat in his usual spot near the window. He sat with his back straight one boot resting comfortably on the rung of the chair ahead of him. The Star-Metal Spear wasn't with him. Weapons were banned in the lecture halls but the phantom weight of it was still there grounding him.
Across the room Valerica Sol gave him a nod. It was a small movement of her head barely noticeable. To the rest of the class watching it was a declaration.
'The Titan acknowledges the Rat,' Vane thought suppressing a smirk.
Next to her Isole Sylvaris was cleaning her glasses with a cloth made of shadow. She caught Vane's eye and offered a faint conspiratorial smile.
The heavy oak door slammed open. Instructor Rowan Draeven walked in.
