Measured.
Unavoidable.
Professor Kenna.
She stood near the doorway, as if she had always been there, her presence slipping into the room without disturbing the wards.
Except—the wards reacted to me now.
Not her.
That realization sent a strange ripple through my chest.
“Miss Notte,” she said, studying me carefully. “I see you’ve returned to us.”
“I think so,” I said.
She stepped closer.
Not threatening.
But assessing.
“You didn’t just survive the regression,” she continued. “You rewrote its outcome.”
I blinked.
“That wasn’t supposed to happen, was it?”
“No,” she said plainly.
Silence stretched.
“And yet, you controlled it,” she added. “Eventually.”
“With help,” I said, glancing at Raven.
Her gaze followed.
Lingering.
Calculating.
“Yes,” she said. “That brings us to the more unexpected development.”
Raven shifted slightly beside me.
Not retreating.
Not deferring.
Standing his ground.
And for the first time—she didn’t challenge it.
“Draugr,” she said.
His expression hardened.
