The four of them walked in silence.
Their footsteps echoed along the polished stone path leading from ElderGlow's eastern courtyard toward the grand Colosseum.
The morning sun stretched across the sky like golden fire, casting long shadows behind them. Birds called overhead, the faint breeze whistled past training grounds, and the main building loomed distant behind them—its towers and halls steadily receding.
Damon, Anaya, Daveon, and Celeste—ElderGlow's Year Three chosen—marched side by side, bruised, battered, and uncharacteristically quiet.
"I can still feel her elbow in my spine," Daveon finally muttered, wincing as he adjusted the strap of his vest.
"That's because she put her elbow in your spine," Anaya said flatly, flipping one of her daggers in her hand without looking. "Right after she knocked me off my feet like a sack of coal."
"Not sure what stings more," Celeste said, brushing a leaf from her shoulder, "her blows, or her commentary."
