The cold night air did nothing to calm the low hum of the Magic Tower City.
Malva walked with her arms crossed, her fingers pressing lightly into the fabric of her uniform sleeve. She did not have a destination. When she had whispered to Lyssaria twenty minutes ago that she was stepping out for fresh air, it was not a lie.
The Silver Crest Pavilion had become too loud. The others were sharing stories of childhoods she could not even imagine.
She kept her pace slow and steady. Her pale, blank face showed no emotion, a mask she had spent a lifetime perfecting. She moved like a shadow between the buildings of the Aurelia District, her footsteps silent against the ground.
To anyone passing by, she looked like just another student out late, but her body was always tense, always ready to disappear into the nearest alley at the first sign of trouble.
Her mind was quiet.
