Chapter 3 Eyes Across The Room

• "You're late," Kian whispered as I slid into the seat beside him, the wooden bench creaking under me.
• "By two minutes."
• "Two minutes is late when the headmaster hates being interrupted." He nodded toward the front of the hall, where a tall silver-haired man stood at a podium, still shuffling papers like he hadn't noticed the room wasn't fully seated yet. "Trust me, I learned that the hard way last year."
• The Great Hall at Emberfall was nothing like the brochure photos. Rows of long benches stretched from the entrance to a raised platform at the front, banners hanging from the rafters bearing crests I didn't recognize yet, and candlelight flickering along the stone walls even though it was still bright outside. My hand kept drifting to my collarbone, checking the amulet was still hidden under my collar, the thread I'd stitched into the clasp holding for now.
• It wouldn't hold forever. I knew that. I just needed it to hold long enough.
• "That's the headmaster, Corwin," Kian said, leaning close enough that only I could hear him. "Runs the school like a military camp, but he's fair. That's Professor Hale next to him, head of healer training. You'll be seeing a lot of her."
• I nodded, only half listening, because my eyes had already found him.
• Rhett sat two rows ahead, off to the side, close enough to the front that I understood without being told he wasn't just any student. He wasn't talking to anyone around him. He sat with his elbows on his knees, jaw tight, staring straight ahead like the whole ceremony was something he'd already sat through a hundred times.
• "That's his dad," Kian murmured, following my gaze. "Alpha Calloway. Runs half the regional pack council, like I said. Rhett's basically been groomed for this since he could walk."
• A broad-shouldered man with graying temples stood near the headmaster, and even from a distance, I could see where Rhett got the set of his jaw, the same unreadable stillness.
• Headmaster Corwin's voice rang out, calling the hall to order, and the room fell into an uneasy quiet. I tried to focus on the words, something about tradition, about the founding families, about the honor of representing your pack while at Emberfall. My mind kept drifting back to the crack in my amulet, the flash of blood on the stone floor, the voice I hadn't been able to place.
• "...and this year, we welcome a new class of healers, warriors, and future leaders," Corwin continued. "Each of you carries your pack's name into these halls. Wear it well."
• Beside me, Kian shifted, and I caught him glancing toward the front, toward Rhett, with something careful in his expression.
• "Does he ever talk?" I whispered.
• "Rhett?" Kian huffed a quiet laugh. "Not unless he has to. Word of advice, don't expect small talk if you end up near him. He's not big on it."
• I wasn't planning on being anywhere near him, but something about the way Kian said it made me wonder exactly how many people had tried and failed.
• The ceremony dragged through introductions, through the reciting of pack names, through polite applause that felt more obligatory than warm. By the time Corwin finally released us, my legs had gone stiff from sitting too long, and half the hall was already on its feet, filing toward the wide double doors at the back.
• "Dinner's next," Kian said, standing and stretching his arms overhead. "Fair warning, the dining hall gets loud fast. Stick with me if you don't want to end up sitting alone."
• "I can handle sitting alone."
• "Sure you can." He grinned. "Doesn't mean you should have to."
• I followed him toward the doors, weaving through clusters of students already breaking into familiar groups, laughter bouncing off the stone walls. That was when I felt it again, that same prickling weight settling across my shoulders, and I didn't need to turn around to know who it was.
• I turned anyway.
• Rhett stood a few feet away, near the base of the platform, his father already deep in conversation with another Alpha nearby. He wasn't looking at his father. He was looking straight at me, the same unreadable stare from the grand hall that morning, except now there was something sharper in it, something searching.
• I froze for half a second too long.
• "Wren," Kian said, tugging at my sleeve. "You coming?"
• "Yeah," I said, but I didn't move yet.
• Rhett took a step toward me, and for one strange moment, it felt like the entire hall had gone quiet around us, even though it hadn't, even though people were still talking and laughing and pushing past on either side.
• "You're the Bloodrose girl," he said. Not a question.
• "Wren," I said. "Wren Ashby."
• His eyes flicked down, just briefly, to the collar of my shirt, right where the amulet sat hidden underneath. My pulse jumped.
• "Your uncle's Alpha Fergus," he said, still not a question, still that same flat certainty, like he'd already decided something about me before I'd said a single real word.
• "Yes."
• Something passed behind his eyes, gone before I could name it. "He's coming for Founder's Weekend. My father mentioned it."
• "So I've heard."
• A beat of silence stretched between us, heavier than it should have been for two strangers who'd exchanged maybe twenty words. Rhett's gaze didn't waver, didn't soften, but there was something underneath the coldness that didn't match the rest of him, something almost like he was trying to work out a puzzle he hadn't asked for.
• "Careful who you trust here," he said finally, low enough that only I could hear it. "Not everyone in this school is who they seem."
• Before I could ask what that meant, his father called his name from across the hall, and Rhett turned without another word, walking away like the conversation had never happened at all.
• I stood there, heart hammering, Kian's hand still loose on my sleeve.
• "What was that about?" he asked.
• I didn't have an answer. But my amulet felt warmer than it had all day, and somewhere deep in my chest, a quiet, unwelcome thought settled in.
• Rhett already knew something I didn't.