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Cassian remains beside me, one hand still lightly supporting my elbow. "It doesn't mean the memories are gone from you," he says. "Only that Eirea couldn't reach their emotional residue."

Aldric looks toward him. "Is that better?"

Cassian does not lie. "I don't know."

Aldric absorbs the answer. Then nods once. Rhyven has remained silent since I pulled my hand away. He stands a few steps from us, attention fixed on Aldric rather than the surrounding students. His face reveals almost nothing, but the stillness in him has changed. This is no longer suspicion. It is calculation. "How long were you at the Place?" he asks.

Aldric glances toward him. "Most of the night."

"Did anything unusual happen?"

"No."

"Did you leave the main room?"

Aldric looks down. "For a few minutes."

Rhyven's gaze sharpens. "Where?"

"The washroom."

"Alone?" Aldric nods. "Anything else?"

Aldric thinks. "I went upstairs once."

"To the store?"

"I needed air."

"What time?"

"I don't know. After the second round of fights." Silence. Then— "Did anyone go with you?" Rhyven's question is careful. He looks like his mind is already ten steps ahead.

"No."

I watch the questions build around him. Not random. A map taking shape in Rhyven's mind.

"What happened outside?" I ask.

"Nothing." Aldric's brow furrows. "I stood near the alley. It was cold. Then someone opened the shop door, so I went back downstairs." Cold.

"How long were you outside?"

"Two minutes. Maybe less."

I nod. "Did the street feel different?"

He looks from me to Rhyven. "Different how?"

I think of the Trial. The way sound vanished despite leaves continuing to move. The ward humming, then stopping. The blood beneath my fingers containing the shape of a person without any trace of the life that came before.

"Quiet?" I say.

Aldric's expression changes. Only slightly. "I thought everyone was inside."

Cassian's attention sharpens. "There were no emotions nearby?"

Aldric looks toward him. "I wouldn't know." He shrugs.