Chapter 85

• Zara’s POV
• The hallway outside the class was humming with a different sort of energy today. It wasn’t the usual chatter, the lazy lull of voices bouncing off the walls between lectures. No, this was sharper, edged with the sort of glee that comes only when people believe they’ve stumbled on fresh gossip.
• I could feel it before I even turned the corner, the pause in footsteps when I walked past, the sudden dip in voices, followed by hushed whispers rising again when they thought I was out of earshot. My stomach tightened, a warning coil, though I didn’t slow down.