Sasha’s Pov
The vaulted hall of the Headmaster loomed over us like a tomb. Rain drummed a relentless rhythm against the stained-glass windows, flickering torchlight dancing across the stone walls. I stood beside Alex, soaked to the bone, my soaked training cloak clinging to burned skin, and beneath it, my heart felt like it was catching fire all over again.
Headmaster Varian sat at the head of a long, dark table, his stern face etched in flickers of torchlight. Around him sat the Council: stern-faced instructors, including Marwen the Healer, whose gaze lingered on me as if watching a wounded animal.
Varian’s voice resonated like iron:
“Rowan Dean and Alex Knight. You’ve been summoned to explain what happened in the Ridgelands,” he intoned. His eyes narrowed. “And what, exactly, happene
