Zara’s POV
The classroom buzzed with the usual chaos. Magic sparks crackled as someone lost control of their rune practice across the room. A dragon shifter boy near the window let smoke curl lazily from his nose, earning a glare from the instructor who hadn’t even looked up from his book in over twenty minutes.
“Did you hear about the fight behind the dining hall? I swear, if one more dragon shifter burns the herb garden, the headmistress is going to lose it.”
I nod without looking at her, scribbling nonsense in the margin of my notebook. Anything to keep her from realizing I’m barely listening.
But then, the door creaks.
It’s the smallest sound. Doors creaked open all the time. But this one? This one turned the room to ice. The conversations stopped mid-sentence. Even the dragon bo
