37

“Ugh, why do I feel so distracted?” Layla groaned, shutting the textbook and resting her forehead on it. She knew why. Curiosity was crawling at her gut, begging her to stand up from her chair and search for Alaric.

‘Should I really go and meet him? I haven’t seen him since breakfast, and it’s almost lunch. Maybe I can ask him what we are eating.’ She stood up from her chair, stretching her body that had become stiff from sitting down for hours, and she strolled to her door.

‘The door to my right.’ She walked out of her room and headed to the door that Alaric had told her was his office. She stopped at it, holding her knuckle up to knock, but she froze.

‘What if he’s busy? It would be rude to disturb him while he’s working. He spent the whole day with me yesterday, so maybe he’s trying to cover up. This is a bad idea.’ She dropped her hand and turned to leave.

“Come in,” Alaric’s voice came from the side of the door, and she jerked.

‘How did he know? What am I saying? He