"I'm here, Professor! Sorry I'm late!"
Elin's voice rang out breathlessly, cutting through the mild morning murmur of voices like a peal of bells. She came dashing toward the group, strands of her hair flying behind her in disarray, cheeks flushed from the effort of running.
But she was not alone.
Trailing behind her at a composed and unhurried pace was a young man—strikingly handsome, and yet wholly distinct from those around him. He appeared to be around the same age as the Heroes of Amun-Ra, but that was where the similarities ended. His hair was stark white, like freshly fallen snow under moonlight, and his eyes were a deep, piercing crimson that seemed to shimmer with veiled intensity. His features were finely chiseled, possessing an ethereal beauty that was both captivating and unsettling. Among the tanned-skinned Romans and sun-darkened warriors of the East, he stood out like a ghost out of place in time.
