After finishing lunch (Well, kind of), both Xara and Aether walked with a hurried pace from the dining room, their footsteps echoing faintly in the hallway.
Xara just kept dragging him, her hand wrapped tightly around his wrist as if afraid he might slip away, tugging him straight into his room without a word.
And then—Thud!
Xara slammed—no, she furiously slammed the door behind them, locking it with a jarring clack before spinning around to corner Aether between her and the cold wall.
"Do you have any idea what you were doing there?" Xara asked, her voice quivering with restrained fury, frustration, and something much deeper—something dangerous and forbidden. She was barely holding herself together.
Aether blinked at her, a picture of innocence painted across his face as he tilted his head. "What do you mean?" he asked, lips parting just slightly, as though he were genuinely puzzled.
