Chapter 45 — Kael's Warning

• The academy grounds still smelled of cold ash and dying magic. Dawn had risen, but the light felt thin, almost afraid to touch the ruins left behind. Scarlet walked through the broken courtyard with her cloak pulled tight around her, fingers trembling from a night she had barely survived.
• Lucien had gone to assess the outer walls. The others were scattered, searching for survivors or burying the lost. Scarlet tried to breathe steadily, but every inhale carried the memory of screams and blood and the red glow that had swallowed the sky.
• She stopped beside the shattered fountain where the moon’s reflection once danced. Now it held only murky water and pieces of stone.