Lily’s POV

  The door to Professor Harlan’s office clicked shut behind me and cut off the quiet hallway completely. 

  My heart pounded so hard I could feel it in my throat and in my ears all at once.

  I stood there gripping the strap of my backpack so tight my knuckles hurt while my legs shook under me. 

  The air in the room hung heavy with the smell of old books and stale coffee and the single lamp on his desk threw sharp shadows across the piles of papers and textbooks scattered everywhere.

  He looked up from his computer screen right away and his eyes locked onto mine with that...