Professor Halvane’s voice cut through the hum of wards and murmuring students. “Two Courts,” he said, chalk scraping across the black wall of runes behind him. “Two empires. Two definitions of survival.”

“The Ancient Order,” he continued, tapping the scarlet half of the map, “vampire and werewolf dominion. They call humans stock.”

“The Crimson Circle sits the Blood Throne, the oldest vampires alive. Werewolves enforce their laws. Humans there are livestock or pets.”