The shift didn't feel immediate, and that was what made it worse. Nothing in the hall warned them that something had changed, yet the air carried a weight that hadn't been there before. It wasn't pressure in the usual sense. No one felt like they were being tested directly. Instead, it felt like the kind of quiet that comes right before someone says something you won't be able to ignore afterward. Lucas noticed it the moment he stepped inside, but he didn't react. He just slowed slightly, eyes moving across the room, picking up on the small things most people missed.
Students weren't grouping as quickly this time. That alone said enough. Usually, hesitation meant uncertainty about the challenge, but this was different. People knew something was coming. They just didn't know how to prepare for it, and for once, preparation might not matter.
Tomas walked beside him, hands shoved into his pockets, gaze drifting from one cluster to another. "You feel that?" he asked quietly.
