Chapter 49 Tension In The Ranks

• "Even wolves tremble before a storm."
• The Academy's ancient stone walls seemed to breathe differently after Lady Katheris's visit, as if her presence had somehow altered the very air that flowed through its corridors and chambers.
• It wasn't merely her ominous warning to Darius that lingered like incense smoke in a closed chapel, though those words—your mate could be your downfall—had certainly carved themselves into every conversation that followed. Rather, it was the ripple effect of her inspection, the way even the most confident students now moved with newfound caution, as though her pale eyes had left hairline cracks in the Academy's foundations that might spread without warning.