The corridor beyond Tactical Espionage was already crowded with students spilling out from nearby classrooms. The academy seemed to breathe differently at the end of the day, its strict order loosening into movement and noise.
Boots scraped against polished stone. Voices rose and overlapped. Cloaks and coats rustled as students prepared to cross the grounds. Lamps along the walls had already been lit, their pale flames trembling faintly inside glass casings as the late afternoon light faded through the tall windows.
Outside, autumn had nearly surrendered.
The academy grounds stretched under a dimming sky, the kind of gray-blue that came just before evening settled fully. Trees that had once held gold and red leaves now stood half-bare along the stone paths, their branches thin and dark against the sky.
