In the academy's private rooms, reserved for students to use for personal reasons, Avery sat alone, staring at her hands. The gravity of her situation weighed heavily on her—being involved with the Trash God was no trivial matter.

The continent had seen the havoc wreaked by dark entities in the past, and both nations and the Church held extreme prejudice against anything connected to such forces. As a noble lady, Avery had been educated on these dangers repeatedly. She was all too aware of what fate awaited those tied to the Trash God.

Her sin was not something she could …