Chapter Twenty-Five

Scarlett’s POV

The sun is barely out when I leave the packhouse for school, but the chatter already fills the campus long before I step through the gates. There’s something about the way people are whispering today—something electric, scandalous. I can feel it in the air.

I’ve been in this school long enough to recognize when I’m the subject of the gossip. Heads turn subtly. Some smiles are fake and too wide. Some glares are sharp, cutting through me like thin ...