The heavy doors of the auditorium groaned shut behind Isabella, sealing off the oppressive weight of the Emperor's presence. The moment she stepped into the grand foyer, her composure remained as rigid as the ice she commanded, though her heart was drumming a frantic rhythm against her ribs.
Kael, Jace, and Milo immediately swarmed her, their faces pale with anxiety. They had heard the muffled roars of magic and felt the bone-chilling drop in temperature even through the reinforced walls.
Kael exhaled, nearly tripping over his own feet,
"Lady Isabella! You're alive! We saw the professors running out with frost on their eyebrows. Did he... did he try to kill you?"
Jace adjusted his glasses, "How did it go my lady? Did the Emperor say anything? Did you pass?"
Isabella smoothed the front of her cerulean robes, her aqua-blue hair shimmering under the ambient light of the foyer.
