The heavy creak of the classroom door broke the silence. Selora stepped inside, her robes flowing behind her like a curtain of midnight. Her sharp eyes immediately fell upon Jordan and Jayden, both seated at their desks, quills resting idly beside them.
Her brow arched. "Still here, I see."
Neither boy spoke. Jayden leaned back with a faint smirk, while Jordan kept his gaze fixed on the parchment before him.
Selora crossed the room with brisk steps, her staff striking the floor in measured rhythm. She reached for the parchments, expecting to find them blank or half-scribbled. Instead, her eyes scanned words already complete — stanzas written in firm, decisive hands.
Her lips pursed. "Finished…?"
She lingered a moment longer than necessary, reading their work in silence. The stanzas were competent, perhaps even insightful — but something about them felt too clean, too rehearsed. Her instincts prickled, though she said nothing.
At last, she set the parchments down with a quiet thump.
"Very well. I will accept these. For now."
Her gaze shifted between the two boys, her tone sharpening like the edge of a blade.
"But hear me — whatever feud lies between you must be put aside. Conflict unchecked will not only destroy you both… it will undermine everything this Academy strives to build. That, I will not allow."
Jordan shifted uncomfortably in his seat, guilt flickering across his face. Jayden only scoffed, though he did not meet her eyes.
Selora studied them a moment longer, her suspicion unspoken but heavy in the air. Then, with a flick of her staff, she dismissed them.
"Go. Return to your schedules. And remember what I have said."
The boys rose, silent as they left the classroom. Only once the door closed behind them did Selora's hand tighten on her staff, her unease lingering like a shadow she could not shake.