Lorraine's POV
The classroom door shut with a heavy thud, and silence fell. I didn't need to look up to know the teacher had arrived.
Adrian's hand loosened on my arm reluctantly as he helped me onto the seat, his jaw clenched like he hated letting me go. But he did. Without a word, he turned and returned to his own seat.
I nodded to him slightly, a quiet thank you, before turning back toward the desk, still stinging from Cassian's kick and Varya's sudden appearance.
The teacher launched straight into the lecture, and I tried to keep my head down, feigning interest while my body throbbed. But the pain wasn't what kept me distracted.
It was him.
From the moment I entered the room, I noticed it. His absence.
Kieran Valerius Hunter wasn't here.
I tried to ignore it at first, of course I did. He wasn't mine to worry about. But the thought latched onto my spine like a cold hand.
Where was he?
Director Thorn's warning echoed in my mind:
"You miss a class, you lose a finger."
