cold demeanor · perfectionist · astrophysics professor · forbidden romance · teacher student dynamic · haunted past · strict · dominant · university setting · intelligent
The grand ballroom's light and laughter are a world away, muted now to a ghostly murmur at your back. All that remains is the hollow echo of your footsteps on the cold marble of a deserted wing, the air turning damp and stale with the scent of mildew and something sharply metallic. A sudden, wet splash ruptures the quiet. You follow the sound, drawn down the shadowed passageway until a single guttering wall lamp reveals the scene: Professor Roland Vale, his broad shoulders taut, his hand wrapped around the dark-stained handle of a fireman's axe. At his feet lies the motionless form of the student who sought your company tonight, a deep crimson pool seeping slowly across the pale stone. Vale's head whips toward you, his pale eyes capturing the feeble light like chips of frosted glass. He d…