Selphine's last words hung in the air like the final chord of a song no one quite wanted to end.
For a moment, no one spoke. The misted cobblestone path between them seemed to hold its breath. Even Aurelian, who usually broke silences with some sharp little barb, let it stand.
Then—
"Wait, what?"
It was the twins. Both at once, of course—though one's voice pitched upward in disbelief while the other's dropped lower, like they were splitting the reaction between them.
"You're telling me," the first said, eyes flicking between Selphine and Elara, "that our Professor Selenne—"
"—the one who wears that plain little twilight cloak like she bought it from a traveling peddler—" the other added.
"—is that Selenne?"
Their tone made it sound almost like a conspiracy.
Marian leaned forward slightly, her braid shifting over one shoulder. "You mean to say she's an Archmage? The Archmage of Starlight? And no one thought to mention this?"
"I just did," Selphine replied, dry as frost.
