I whipped around so fast I dropped the scroll. I swallowed as it clattered loudly, echoing in the vast room, and stood frozen in the aftermath of silence.
A man stood inside the room. He was tall, broad-shouldered, and in a cloak so black it seemed to drink the pale moonlight that streamed into the room. The energy crushing my chest becameimpossibly more pressurized. Every instinct told me to run, but my legs wouldn't obey.
His face was partially in shadow, but what I could see revealed sharp angles, a chiseled cheekbone, and a presence that bore right through me.
He took a step forward, and the air shifted as if bending to his will. His gaze swept over me—one brow lifting as though he couldn’t decide whether I was foolish or bold.
The sheer magnitude of his presence struck me again, and I shivered. I didn't know who he was, but I knew without a doubt that he was someone important. Someone powerful. Maybe the most powerful person I’d crossed paths with since arriving at Nightfall.
And I was trespassing.
Leather straps were fastened at his collar, and his cloak was more intricate than any I’d seen. The faint smell of something metallic clung to him, and I took a step back as he moved toward me.
He held up a scroll in his hand. “Is this the one you were looking for?”
I stared at it. It was just like the others. He tossed it at me, and I caught it. Hands shaking, I unrolled it.
I tried to read the Valyrian, but tears blurred my vision, and I wasn’t that good at it yet. Professor Rynar wouldn’t be pleased. I desperately wiped them away, trying to see the parchment, but the tears were making the ink bleed.
Very clearly at the top was Cody’s name.
Likely path of leadership—fire: density unknown.
I dropped the scroll as if it burned me. My fingers trembled as I clenched them at my sides, willing myself to breathe.
“I don’t think we’ve been introduced,” he said, his voice smooth and low.
I didn’t move.
“I’m Ezreal Kalmont, the Adept’s Raicanya instructor,” he said.
His gaze flickered to the scroll I dropped on the floor.
“What were you hoping to find?” he asked.
The heat drained from my cheeks. This was it. This was how I was going to die.
The door opened behind him and my limbs tingled with relief.
Blake came in with a cross look on his face. His eyes widened momentarily when he saw me, then flicked to Ezreal’s before his expression deepened into a scowl.
“What are you both doing here?” he asked, an edge in his voice that wasn’t directed at me.
Ezreal watched me, unblinking, never turning to look at Blake.
“I,” my voice shook, and I couldn’t get the words out.
Blake noticed the scrolls opened and scattered, and his expression softened.
“I can handle this, Ezreal,” he said. His voice was steady, but there was tension beneath the calm.
Ezreal raised an eyebrow, but said nothing, never once looking at Blake, and swept from the room.
Immediately, I could breathe again and the knot in my chest eased.
“You should not have come here,” he said, stern and disapproving.
My walls went up at his change in tone as he rolled the scrolls and placed them as they were.
