I blinked.
That… was not what I expected.
I turned toward him slowly, like I’d misheard.
“What?”
But he wasn’t looking at me like I was unstable.
He looked… stunned.
Like I’d said something important.
The word echoed in my head.
Necromancer.
It didn’t feel like an accusation.
It felt like… a name.
Something settled in my chest—heavy, grounding, undeniable.
Not crazy.
Not broken.
Something else.
I swallowed.
Around me, the silence shifted again—but differently this time. Still intense. Still focused. But not in the way I was used to.
Sapphire was staring at me, her expression unreadable—but there was something in her eyes I couldn’t quite place. Not fear. Not exactly.
Something sharper.
Emery leaned forward, elbows on the table, like I’d just said something she’d been waiting to hear.
Ursula’s hand brushed mine under the table—light, reassuring.
I clung to that.
Because I still didn’t trust it.
Didn’t trust any of it.
Years of being told I was wrong didn’t just disappear because a few people didn’t immediately call a doctor.
My heart was still racing.
My body was still braced for the fallout.
For the correction.
For someone to tell me?—
“No, Serena. That’s not what this is.”