Merlin reached into his satchel and placed one of the shattered gauntlet pieces onto the desk. The surface of the metal still pulsed faintly, residual mana trapped inside the fracture lines, unstable but fascinating. Morgana studied it without touching, her eyes scanning its mana imprint.
"This isn't academy-level craftsmanship," she murmured. "This is military design, at least, what's left of one."
Lysandor's jaw tightened. "We should raise security across the second-year testing sites."
"Already in motion," Morgana replied. She turned to Merlin and Elara again. "And you two, you acted beyond your orders. You disobeyed the retreat protocol."
Elara's breath caught, but Merlin didn't flinch.
"I didn't think we had time to wait," he said. "And if we had, there'd be a body count."
Morgana's gaze lingered on him for a long moment. The room felt smaller, like her presence alone filled every corner. Then, finally, she sighed.
