The journey to the Imperial Academy took three grueling days, and Orion managed to learn two very important things along the way. First, the empire was vastly larger than any map in the Ashbourne library suggested. Second, Luna was becoming increasingly, deeply suspicious of every single female within a hundred-meter radius of their carriage.
The second discovery was, by far, the more exhausting of the two.
"She's looking at you," Luna muttered, her eyes narrowed into sharp slits as she peered through the carriage window.
Orion glanced outside at the muddy roadside. A local merchant was setting up a wooden crate. "She is literally just selling apples, Luna."
"That's exactly what she wants you to think. It's a classic infiltration strategy."
"She's at least sixty years old."
"Vigilance knows no age, Orion."
