Nyx
Silence settled over the clearing. Not the peaceful kind. The uncomfortable kind that followed humiliation and a harsh lesson learned the hard way. Students who had laughed only minutes earlier now refused to meet anyone's eyes, their shoulders slumped. A few were still pale, breathing harder than the short time we'd been here should allow. Others quietly dusted themselves off, pretending the whole ordeal had never happened, though their shaking hands gave them away.
Morvalis had welcomed them with open arms and a deceptive smile. And then it had reminded them exactly where they were, in a place that toyed with the mind as easily as it could end a life.
Theo folded his arms across his chest, surveying the shaken students with a raised eyebrow. "Feel better now?"
No one answered him. The silence stretched awkwardly.
"I'll take that as a yes," Theo added, his tone light but pointed.
