The doors to the council chamber were heavier than they looked. I'd passed them a hundred times without thinking twice, but standing in front of them now, I noticed details I'd missed before. Wolves carved into the dark oak, their jaws open mid-snarl. Crescent moons crowned with silver filigree. The kind of craftsmanship that took years and cost more than most students would see in their lifetimes.

Two guards flanked the entrance, faces blank as stone. Neither acknowledged me. That was ...