The Ledger waited until after the applause died.
Cruel thing.
The Mirror Yard emptied in waves. Obsidian students left first, bright with dangerous pride. Gold Hall representatives left slower, carrying offense like perfume. Faculty clustered near the evaluator's table, arguing over whether a servant commanding civilian proxies through laundry signals counted as tactical brilliance, witness interference, or a procedural gap no one wished to admit existed.
Niko was surrounded by three engineering students demanding to know how he had cracked the right mirror seam without triggering the backlash ward.
He kept saying, "I did not crack it, I persuaded it to be temporarily honest," which did not help his case.
Liora looked pleased enough to be dangerous.
Ren looked like a man who had survived being struck by lightning and then been asked to comment on weather.
Seraphina reached me before anyone else.
"Hand."
"Hello to you too."
"Hand."
I gave her the right one.
