The lecture hall buzzed with low chatter as students filed in, notebooks flipping open, pens scratching across paper. The scent of ink, leather, and far too many bodies pressed into one space filled the air.
Jenna slid into her usual seat with Maren at her side, trying not to draw attention, though she knew every set of eyes already expected something from her. Since yesterday’s clash, the academy had become a hive of whispers, and she was the center of it.
Maren leaned close, muttering, “You know they’re just waiting for something to happen again, right?”
“Let them wait,” Jenna whispered back, forcing her pen into her grip. “Nothing’s going to happen.”
But even as she said it, she felt him before she saw him.
The air shifted.
Kaelion.
The Alpha King moved across the platform like i
