The air around the archway turned cold.
My eyes snapped open. The tiredness in my head was gone as the sudden drop in temperature hit my senses. It was not frost on the stone or ice on the vines. This cold was different. It hit me through my soul perception — the sight I had gotten from Mia.
I turned back, forgetting my plan to leave. My curiosity was too strong.
Moving quietly, I slipped through the dark archway and into the old part of the academy. I climbed up to a higher stone ledge, hidden behind thick vines, and looked down into the empty yard below.
That was when I saw it.
Below, four students from another class had a girl cornered against a cracked stone wall. They were rich freshman nobles. Their clean uniforms had never seen real work. Their faces were twisted with ugly, proud looks.
