Lyra's POV
My gaze swept across the lecture hall, catching sight of my fellow students huddled together in small clusters. Their heads bent close as hushed conversations rippled through the room like wildfire. I could feel the weight of their stares burning into my skin, each whispered word adding fuel to the growing inferno of speculation that surrounded me. The rumors were already taking root, spreading their poisonous tendrils through the classroom before spilling out into the corridors beyond.
As I was escorted from the building, those whispered accusations followed me like shadows. Each step I took seemed to scatter new seeds of gossip across the campus grounds, carried on the wind of shocked gasps and incredulous murmurs that trailed in my wake.
