Jace POV
The first morning back after the two–week break felt wrong. The air around Blackwood Academy was the same as always—but the energy wasn't. It carried whispers instead of laughter. Rumors slithered across the courtyard like snakes, curling between lockers, slipping beneath doorways, burrowing under skin.
And every whisper had the same name threaded through it.
Zara.
I leaned against the rooftop railing, arms folded, eyes fixed on the gates below. From up here, I could see everything, the students trickling back, the gleaming black cars lined up along the drive, the clusters of friends reuniting. I was supposed to feel relief that things were returning to normal. I didn't.
Because nothing was normal anymore. I heard it in hushed voices.
Did you hear? Someone trie
