Evaline:
I slammed my bedroom door shut, letting the echo of it roll through the quiet hallway.
My chest was rising and falling rapidly, anger and disbelief tangled together in a tight knot that refused to loosen.
How dare they?
Training. That was their solution.
Not listening, not discussing... just dictating. Like I was some rebellious child who needed to be reined in.
I pressed a hand against the wall, closing my eyes as I tried to steady my breathing. But the more I thought about River's expression, the colder my blood ran. That detached calm. That authority. That warning.
I had come too far to be treated like this again.
Not after everything.
I turned toward my desk and pulled out a fresh sheet of paper, scrawling notes furiously. I wasn't about to wait for anyone's permission. There had to be something... some loophole, some record, some trace of how these soul deaths began. I just needed to get into that building.
