Evaline:
A chill licked down my spine as I watched him make his way through the central arena, stopping at the raised officials' platform, nodding to a few of the instructors gathered there.
I barely registered the murmurs of students around me, their excited whispers, dreamy sighs, or awestruck stares. The girls in the crowd were clinging to each other and gushing like he was a prince from a fantasy novel.
But for me, he was no fantasy. He was a nightmare.
I was thankful for the cap pulled low over my brow, and the mask I had dug out this morning for no particular reason. I hadn't worn them since my first day here as I wanted to blend in like every other applicant. But something in my gut had told me to cover up today. Maybe it was fate. Maybe it was luck. Or maybe some part of me had sensed this was going to be the most important day yet.
Even so, could a piece of cloth really hide me from him?
