CASSIAN
I walked back to my classroom with Miyori's words still echoing in my head. The hallway felt longer than usual, each step weighted with the memory of Rae's frightened eyes and the headmistress's cold dismissal. Students passed me in clusters, their voices dropping to whispers when they noticed my expression.
The classroom door stood open. I could hear voices inside, the usual pre-class chatter that died the moment I stepped through the threshold. Twenty-three desks arranged in neat rows, but several sat empty. I counted quickly. Conrad's seat was vacant. So was Luca's.
I set my leather satchel on the desk and pulled out my notes, though I barely glanced at them. The lesson I'd planned felt hollow now, academic theory divorced from the brutal reality I'd witnessed in the infirmar
