The knock came just as dusk finished bleeding into night.
I was still seated by the window, pretending to read while very obviously not reading at all after Maribel left, when the sound startled me.
"Lady Seraphina?" a maid's voice called gently through the door.
"Yes," I answered, setting the book aside.
She entered with a practiced bow. "The Crown Prince requests your presence in the sitting room. Lady Maribel as well."
My stomach tightened.
"...Now?" I asked, though there was no real reason to.
"Yes, my lady."
I nodded. "Thank you."
The maid withdrew. I stayed seated for a few seconds longer than necessary, staring at the fabric of my skirts as if it might offer guidance.
[You could run,] Nero offered lazily. [But that would defeat the purpose of all the brooding you have been doing.]
I am not brooding.
[You have been staring out a window for twenty minutes while replaying one sentence,] he said. [That is advanced brooding.]
