Celeste's POV
*****
Murmurs rippled through the Crimson Expanse like a disturbed current—soft at first, then louder and sharper.
Thorne and the Luna Queen drew close to the steps to the high table.
Dean Thorne, unmistakable in his crimson robes, moved with his usual controlled authority. His presence alone was enough to quiet half a field of supernatural students.
But it wasn't him.
It was the woman beside him.
Luna Queen Janelle wore white and silver robes embroidered with lunar runes so old they seemed to hum faintly even from this distance. Power clung to every fibre of her being.
My chest tightened just staring at her.
Whispers erupted immediately—some reverent, some shocked, some outright stunned.
I'd heard of her my whole life. Everyone had.
Europe's Luna Queen. One of the fiercest fighters in the century-old war. Founder of White Flame Academy. A woman who rarely attended the Blood Trials in person.
Yet here she was.
