Twenty-Two

Valeria’s POV

A low, muffled thud was followed by another and yet another. I rolled over in bed and blinked sleepily, listening. A minute later, I realized that the sound came not from my dreams but from outside my front door. Yawning widely, I slipped a robe over my nightie and shuffled to get the door.

On my way I looked at the wall clock. It wasn't time for me to get up yet and start preparing for work, thankfully. But who was calling so early in the morning? I really needed some more sleep before it was time to face the day because who knew what difficult tasks Dimitri was planning to saddle me with today? I threw the door open just as Ivy was preparing to knock again.

"Oh. Hi, Ivy," I murmured, stifling another yawn.

I had told her last night of how weird I had felt at the meeting and she had promised to check up on me, but I hadn't expected her to be here so early. I felt a twinge of guilt. Her being here meant that she had been worried sick.

"I've been knocking for ages.