THORNE POINT OF VIEW

That night I couldn't sleep.

My mind stayed fixed on Aria, especially the way she had returned earlier, silent and distant. She had walked past me without meeting my eyes and it unsettled me when she asked me to leave.

I stood from my chair and crossed the room, stopping near the door.

“Send for one of the maids who went with Lady Aria,” I told the guard outside. “Now.”

The guard bowed and hurried off.

I didn’t sit back down.

I paced instead, my boots ...