Rory's POV

The first thing he said wasn’t my name.

It was a warning.

“Don’t let anyone see your arm.”

I froze at the entry, my breath catching. Professor Elias Ward stood by his desk, his tall frame outlined by the shifting candlelight, his sharp eyes already locked on me. They weren’t cold like they usually were; they burned with something sharper than fear.

My voice trembled. “You knew?”

His gaze flicked to my sleeve where the rune still burned faintly under my ...