The academy was quieter that night.
Most of the students had already returned to their dormitories, and the corridors that were usually filled with footsteps and conversation had fallen almost completely silent.
Kaelen couldn't sleep.
He had tried.
He'd stared at the ceiling.
He'd turned over.
He'd closed his eyes and counted his breaths.
Nothing worked.
Eventually, he gave up.
He pulled on his cloak and slipped outside.
The courtyard was cold.
A gentle wind moved through the trees, carrying the scent of rain from somewhere beyond the city walls.
Kaelen walked toward the western training grounds.
He expected to be alone.
He wasn't.
A small fire burned beneath the old oak.
Deren sat beside it with his arms folded behind his head.
He looked up when Kaelen approached.
"I knew you'd come."
Kaelen stopped.
"How?"
Deren shrugged.
"You've never been good at sleeping before something important."
Kaelen sat opposite him.
"You haven't either."
"I wasn't trying."
Kaelen smiled.
Deren poked the fire with a stick.
For a while, neither spoke.
Then Deren said,
"Tomorrow."
Kaelen nodded.
"Tomorrow."
"That's strange."
"What is?"
"That word."
Kaelen looked at him.
"Tomorrow?"
"Yeah."
Deren stared into the flames.
"For most of our lives, tomorrow was just another day."
He paused.
"Now tomorrow is apparently the day we find out where we're going."
Kaelen understood.
"The assignments."
"Yeah."
Deren leaned forward.
"Do you ever wonder if we'll actually stay together?"
Kaelen didn't answer immediately.
"Of course."
Deren looked surprised.
"You do?"
"Why wouldn't I?"
"I don't know."
He smiled faintly.
"I guess I always assumed we'd end up together somehow."
Kaelen looked at the fire.
"So did I."
Footsteps approached.
Maeve emerged from the darkness carrying a blanket around her shoulders.
She stopped when she saw them.
"I knew it."
Deren grinned.
"Knew what?"
"That you two would be out here."
Kaelen frowned.
"Why?"
"Because neither of you knows how to deal with uncertainty."
Deren pointed at Kaelen.
"She has a point."
Maeve sat beside the fire.
"I usually do."
Another set of footsteps followed.
Seralyn appeared carrying a small bundle of firewood.
She looked at the three of them.
"I thought everyone was asleep."
Deren took the wood.
"We were."
Maeve looked at him.
"No, you weren't."
"I was spiritually asleep."
"That doesn't mean anything."
"It means I'm tired."
Rhess eventually arrived too, looking thoroughly confused.
"I heard voices."
Deren looked up.
"Excellent. The entire group is here."
Rhess sat down.
"Why are we sitting outside in the cold?"
Maeve smiled.
"Because apparently we're sentimental now."
Deren pointed at her.
"Don't ruin it."
For several minutes, they simply sat.
The fire crackled.
The wind moved through the branches.
The distant sounds of the capital slowly faded.
Eventually Rhess spoke.
"Do you remember your first day here?"
Deren laughed.
"Unfortunately."
Maeve smiled.
"You were late."
"By seven minutes."
"By twenty."
"Seven."
"Twenty."
Seralyn nodded.
"Twenty."
Deren stared at them.
"Whose side are you on?"
"Reality."
Kaelen laughed.
Deren pointed at him.
"You weren't even there."
"I've heard the story."
"Then you've heard the correct version."
Maeve shook her head.
"The correct version is that Deren tried to sneak into the academy through a side gate because he overslept."
Deren raised a finger.
"I didn't oversleep."
"You did."
"I was exhausted."
"From what?"
"Traveling."
"You arrived the night before."
"Exactly."
Rhess laughed.
"What about you, Kaelen?"
Kaelen looked into the fire.
"I was terrified."
The others became quiet.
Kaelen continued.
"I didn't know anyone. I didn't know where I belonged. Everyone seemed better than me."
Maeve smiled.
"You hid it well."
"I wasn't trying to hide it."
"You barely spoke."
"I didn't know what to say."
Deren looked at him.
"And now?"
Kaelen glanced around the fire.
"Now I can't get you all to be quiet."
Deren grinned.
"That's growth."
They laughed.
The conversation continued.
They talked about their worst instructors.
Their best meals.
Their stupidest mistakes.
The tournament.
The first time Rhess had met them.
The first time Maeve had seen Kaelen fight.
The first time Seralyn had realized Deren couldn't keep a secret for more than five minutes.
Eventually the conversation became quieter.
Maeve pulled the blanket tighter around herself.
"Do you ever think about what you'll do after the Order?"
Rhess frowned.
"After?"
"Someday."
He considered it.
"I don't know."
Deren smiled.
"I'll open a tavern."
Everyone stared at him.
"What?"
Maeve laughed.
"You?"
"Why not?"
"You'd drink all the profits."
"Then I'd have a successful tavern."
Seralyn shook her head.
"I think you'd burn it down."
"Only once."
Kaelen smiled.
"What would you name it?"
Deren thought seriously.
"The Broken Sword."
Rhess laughed.
"Terrible name."
"It's memorable."
"It's depressing."
"People like depressing."
Maeve looked at Kaelen.
"What about you?"
He was quiet.
"I don't know."
"You've never thought about it?"
"I've thought about it."
He looked toward the distant city.
"I just don't know what kind of life I want."
Maeve nodded.
"Maybe that's okay."
Kaelen looked at her.
"Maybe."
Seralyn stared into the fire.
"I think that's what scares me."
Everyone looked toward her.
She rarely admitted uncertainty.
She continued.
"We've spent years preparing for something."
Her voice was quiet.
"Tomorrow, we finally get it."
She smiled sadly.
"And suddenly I don't know if I'm ready."
Rhess leaned forward.
"None of us are."
Deren nodded.
"That's probably why they call it an assignment."
Maeve laughed softly.
"That's not comforting."
"It's not supposed to be."
The fire burned lower.
One by one, they fell silent.
Above them, the clouds finally parted.
Stars appeared.
Thousands of them.
Kaelen looked upward.
For a brief moment, everything felt perfectly still.
No enemies.
No wars.
No expectations.
Just five friends beneath an endless sky.
Tomorrow would come.
But tonight...
They were together.
And for now, that was enough.
For a while, none of them spoke.
The silence wasn't uncomfortable.
It was the kind of silence that only existed between people who had known each other long enough that they didn't need to fill every empty space.
The fire crackled softly.
Beyond the walls of the academy, the capital continued its nightly rhythm. Somewhere in the distance, a carriage rolled over stone. A tavern door opened and closed. A dog barked once before being silenced by an irritated voice.
Above them, the stars seemed impossibly bright.
Deren eventually broke the silence.
"You know what I think is strange?"
Maeve glanced at him.
"That you're capable of being quiet for more than thirty seconds?"
Deren smiled.
"That too."
Rhess chuckled.
Deren leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
"I was thinking about our first year."
Kaelen looked at him.
"What about it?"
"I don't think any of us expected to end up like this."
Maeve smiled.
"You're right."
She pulled the blanket closer around her shoulders.
"When I first arrived, I thought everyone here was going to hate me."
Deren looked genuinely surprised.
"Why?"
"Because I didn't know anyone. Everyone already seemed to have friends, families, connections. I remember sitting in the dining hall on the first night and realizing I didn't recognize a single face."
Kaelen's expression softened.
"I remember that."
Maeve looked at him.
"You do?"
"You were sitting alone."
She smiled.
"You were too."
"I know."
"And neither of us said anything."
"I didn't know what to say."
Maeve laughed.
"You always say that."
"Because it's true."
"No, it's because you spent the first few months looking like someone had threatened to execute you if you spoke."
Deren burst out laughing.
"That's exactly what he looked like."
Kaelen shook his head.
"I wasn't that bad."
Seralyn tilted her head.
"You were."
Rhess nodded.
"Very."
Kaelen looked around at them.
"You're all terrible friends."
Maeve smiled.
"And yet you're still here."
Kaelen couldn't argue with that.
Deren poked the fire again.
"I remember the first time we all trained together."
Maeve groaned.
"Don't remind me."
"Why? It was fun."
"You nearly broke my nose."
"I apologized."
"After laughing."
"I was nervous."
"You were laughing."
"I laugh when I'm nervous."
Rhess looked at him.
"You laugh when you're everything."
Deren considered that.
"That's fair."
The laughter slowly faded.
Kaelen looked at the flames.
"Do you remember the first time we realized we were actually good together?"
Seralyn answered almost immediately.
"The training exercise against the senior class."
Rhess nodded.
"I remember that."
Maeve smiled.
"We were losing badly."
"We were," Kaelen agreed.
Deren raised a finger.
"Technically, we were strategically retreating."
Maeve stared at him.
"We ran."
"We repositioned."
"You hid behind a tree."
"It was excellent cover."
Rhess laughed.
"And then Kaelen somehow convinced everyone to circle around."
Kaelen shook his head.
"I didn't convince anyone."
"You did," Seralyn said. "You gave us a plan when everyone else was panicking."
Kaelen looked down.
"I just didn't want us to lose."
Maeve smiled.
"And that's when I realized something."
"What?"
"You weren't afraid of failing anymore."
Kaelen looked at her.
"I was terrified."
"Maybe."
She smiled.
"But you didn't let it decide what you did."
The words stayed with him.
He looked toward the academy buildings.
Lit windows dotted the darkness.
Somewhere behind them were classrooms where they'd spent countless hours learning things they had once thought they'd never understand.
It suddenly felt strange to know they would soon leave.
"I think I'll miss this place," Kaelen admitted.
Deren nodded.
"Me too."
Maeve looked surprised.
"You?"
"Of course."
"You complain about the academy every day."
"I can complain about something and still miss it."
Rhess smiled.
"That's surprisingly wise."
"Don't sound so shocked."
"I'm shocked."
Deren threw a small twig at him.
Rhess caught it.
"See?"
Deren pointed.
"You ruined the moment."
"I thought that was your job."
They laughed again.
After a while, Maeve spoke more quietly.
"What happens if we're separated?"
The question landed differently this time.
Nobody joked.
Deren looked at the fire.
"I suppose we write."
"Letters aren't the same."
"No."
He was quiet for a moment.
"But they're something."
Rhess nodded.
"I'll visit."
Maeve looked at him.
"Even if you're assigned to the other side of the kingdom?"
"I'll find a way."
Seralyn looked at Rhess.
"You sound very confident."
"I am."
Deren smiled.
"That's because he's never actually traveled anywhere."
Rhess frowned.
"I've traveled."
"To the training grounds?"
"Beyond the academy."
"How far?"
Rhess hesitated.
"Far."
Deren grinned.
"Very convincing."
Rhess rolled his eyes.
"I'll admit I haven't seen much of the kingdom."
Maeve smiled.
"Neither have I."
Kaelen looked at them.
"Maybe that's what I'm looking forward to."
"Seeing the kingdom?"
"Seeing everything we've spent years training to protect."
The others grew quiet.
Kaelen continued.
"I've spent so long hearing about cities, villages, borders, old ruins, distant kingdoms... Sometimes it felt like those places weren't real."
He looked toward the distant lights of the capital.
"Now we're actually going to see them."
Seralyn nodded.
"And probably discover they're less impressive than the instructors claimed."
Deren laughed.
"Or more dangerous."
"Probably both."
Maeve rested her chin on her knees.
"I wonder where they'll send us."
"Somewhere warm," Deren said.
Rhess shook his head.
"Somewhere with good food."
Maeve laughed.
"Those are your requirements?"
"Important requirements."
Seralyn smiled.
"I'd like somewhere near a library."
Deren stared at her.
"Of course you would."
"What?"
"You could be sent to the most beautiful city in the kingdom, surrounded by gardens and fountains, and you'd ask where the library is."
"Yes."
"You're predictable."
"And you're not?"
Deren thought about it.
"No."
Everyone laughed.
Kaelen watched them.
He wanted to remember this.
Not the tournament.
Not the applause.
Not the battles.
This.
The fire.
The jokes.
Maeve's smile.
Seralyn's quiet observations.
Rhess pretending he wasn't sentimental.
Deren making everyone laugh.
These were the moments that mattered.
The stars had shifted overhead.
The fire was almost out.
Maeve finally stood.
"We should sleep."
Deren groaned.
"I was comfortable."
"You'll be more comfortable in a bed."
"Debatable."
Rhess stood and stretched.
"Tomorrow is our last full day."
Deren looked at him.
"Don't say it like that."
Rhess frowned.
"Like what?"
"Like we're counting down."
Nobody laughed this time.
Because they were.
Kaelen stood.
"Tomorrow will come whether we think about it or not."
Maeve looked at him.
"And the day after."
"And the day after."
Deren sighed.
"Then I vote we don't waste tonight worrying about it."
Seralyn nodded.
"Agreed."
They began walking back toward the dormitories.
Halfway across the courtyard, Deren stopped.
"Wait."
Everyone turned.
He looked back at the dying fire beneath the oak.
"Should we put that out?"
Maeve stared at him.
"Deren."
"What?"
"You started it."
"So?"
"You finish it."
He sighed dramatically and walked back.
"Fine."
Kaelen smiled.
The others waited.
Deren crouched beside the fire and carefully covered the embers with earth until the glow disappeared.
When he stood again, the courtyard was dark.
Only the stars remained.
They walked back together.
None of them knew what tomorrow would bring.
But they had tonight.
And for the last time...
The academy still felt like home.