Zara’s POV
The whispers had done their work.
It didn’t matter that I’d been unconscious when the rumors spread, didn’t matter that my fire had come out by accident in training. By the time I was strong enough to walk again, the professors had already decided my fate. I was “to be temporarily restrained from attending classes,” their words echoing in my mind like a gavel striking.
Restrained.
As though I were dangerous. As though I hadn’t spent years keeping my head down, trying to disappear. Now the entire Academy stared at me like I was a bomb waiting to explode.
So here I was—trapped in my dorm room while everyone else lived life outside. The muted sounds of students training in the courtyard filtered through the open window, clashing swords, barked commands, the laughter of groups
