Elira's POV
I couldn't sit still in that office. Caelan went to check on something down the corridor, and the walls of Professor Soren's office had started closing in around me the moment I was alone with my own thoughts. Everyone knew. Or thought they knew. Seraphina's voice kept replaying in my head, cutting through the dining hall, dismantling everything I built in less than a week.
I needed to move.
I told myself I was only going to the training grounds behind the main building, empty at this hour with everyone still occupied by dinner and gossip. I told myself I would just walk the perimeter, clear my head, and be back before Caelan returned.
I didn't quite believe myself even as I did it.
The outdoor training grounds sat behind the main building, separated from the residential a
