I slumped to the ground. A bloody gurgle bubbled up from my throat as I tried to form words. A healing spell. A shout at Headmistress Millington. My eyes strained to see her in the darkness which grew more absolute by the second.
I was dying, and she'd killed me.
Over the sound of my dying heartbeat, footsteps thudded nearby. Not inside this room with me, but outside. Was the headmistress running away again? No, I couldn't let her. Even death wouldn't stop me.
With the last of my strength, I hauled myself to all fours. The sound of my blood plinking to the floor in steady drops tossed my stomach sideways.
"She's in the Room of Nightmares!" someone shouted behind me.
The Room of Nightmares... Did that mean everything that had happened in this room only been a nightmare and not real? No. I could never be that lucky. But at the same time, I hadn't picked up her scent.