The morning after the night Aristella changed, the academy woke up like it didn't quite trust itself anymore.
The banners were still there. The lanterns had been cleared away. The courtyard looked normal.
But nothing felt normal.
Mira noticed it the moment she stepped outside her dorm.
Students weren't whispering.
They were talking.
Openly.
Laughing. Arguing. Sitting on the steps in mismatched groups that would have never shared space a week ago. House Aurelian beside House Solace. House Virex leaning against the fountain, debating with juniors who still wore their uniforms too big and their opinions too loud.
It wasn't chaos.
It was conversation.
Mira crossed the courtyard slowly, hands in her pockets, watching it unfold like something fragile she didn't want to disturb.
Leo jogged up beside her, nearly tripping over a loose stone.
"Okay," he said, breathless. "Good news. Bad news. And extremely confusing news."
She raised a brow. "In that order."
