Anywhere But Here

Sophia

The decorations down each hallway were gorgeous. I guessed the paintings depicted previous kings or other royalty, but since I lost my guide and his mother was no help, I wandered down the hallway with no direction in mind.

I recalled passing a main staircase at some point, but the hallways were long, and at any given corner, another one spread out in front of me with no end in sight.

Taking the opportunity to snoop, I peeked into several rooms, knowing that if anyone caught me, I would use the excuse that I was lost.

Instead, the one person I wanted to see appeared in the hallway. Thankfully, I wasn’t snooping when I saw him.

“Luke,” I said, unable to hide the smile on my face.

He strode down the hallway as if he owned the place. While he did that everywhere, in this context, I saw an entirely new person walking toward me. He belonged here, no matter what he thought.

“Where’s Abir?” he asked, his thick eyebrows mashed together.

“Your mother told him to get ready for dinner,” I