The morning bell of St. Celeste rang, marking the start of the first day back.
The sound was the same as always.
The smell of cheap incense in the corridors was the same and the gray stone walls hadn't changed.
But Raziel had.
He walked down the main hallway toward the refectory. He didn't slouch his shoulders anymore.
He didn't keep his head down to play the role of the invisible, harmless novice.
His body moved with a quiet, lethal efficiency and his ribs were fully healed.
The heavy exhaustion that had dragged him down for weeks was gone.
The other novices noticed it without understanding why and moved out of his way before he even got close.
Raziel turned a corner and almost bumped into Gideon.
The big novice was leaning against the wall, chatting with two other guys.
Gideon was the one who had delivered the Inquisition's summons days ago with a smug smile on his face.
Gideon looked up and made eye contact with Raziel.
