Professor Morgrave's voice cut through the classroom like a blade through silk.
"Any questions?"
The silence that followed was absolute and suffocating. Not a single hand rose from the sea of nervous students.
Nobody wanted to be the first to draw her attention, not when those cold eyes seemed capable of freezing the very marrow in their bones.
"Good. Open your textbooks to page one."
For a heartbeat, the class remained still, and then a student in the second row committed what could only be described as academic suicide by raising his trembling hand into the air.
"Yes?"
The poor fool swallowed hard before speaking.
"Professor, we were not told to bring textbooks on the first day."
The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees as Professor Morgrave fixed her gaze upon the unfortunate student.
Her expression remained perfectly neutral, which somehow made it infinitely worse than any scowl or glare could have been.
