The silence in the library was heavy enough to crush a man, yet it was the air between us that felt truly lethal. I traced the jagged edges of a forbidden parchment, the ink glowing with a faint crimson hue that seemed to pulse in time with my own racing heart.
"You are staring at that map as if you want to burn it, Lucien," Seraphina whispered, her voice barely audible over the crackle of the dying hearth. She stepped closer, the hem of her robes brushing against my boots. "Stop trying to find a path that doesn't exist."
I looked up, meeting her eyes. They were wide, haunted by the secrets she had been keeping for years. "It exists, Seraphina. Every lie in this academy is mapped out here, waiting for me to tear it down. Do you realize what happens when the students find out their entire
