Chapter 24 Note

(Naomi)

I can’t believe I was hiding here like a mouse. The grand library, usually a place of solace with its towering bookshelves and soft golden light, now felt like a cage. The plush armchair I crouched behind offered scant cover, and every creak of the floorboards made my heart race. It’s been half an hour now. Who leaves notes with only a place? Lunatics.

I had found the note in Iris’s room. And I had to see who wanted to meet her. My curiosity, mixed with a simmering jealousy, had driven me here, to this rendezvous that I had no business attending. But the thought of Iris, the girl who seemed to effortlessly capture the attention of everyone around her, meeting someone in secret filled me with a sense of unease.

I shifted my weight, trying to ease the cramp in my legs, and crushed the ridiculousness of my situation. The note had been cryptic, just an elegant scrawl of, “Library.” I couldn’t ignore it. The message could have been from anyone.

As the minutes ticked by, I found