Elara's POV
I hadn't expected this.
Professor Riley found us almost as soon as we walked in.
She was exactly as I remembered her—sharp-eyed but warm, the kind of professor who made you feel like whatever you'd done since graduation had better be worth telling her about.
She held both my hands as she asked about my research.
Then something in the room changed.
I heard it before I saw anything.
A collective breath. A ripple of whispers moving through the crowd as everyone turned toward the entrance.
Professor Riley glanced over.
"Oh—the Chancellor's calling me. Apparently, Alpha Orion just arrived with..." She trailed off.
Her eyes flicked to mine, something careful passing through her expression.
"I'll find you later, Elara. Don't disappear on me."
Then she hurried away.
I didn
