For the second time in the day, Rowena ran through the corridors with her heart pounding. She had not been able to think correctly; the memory of Marek's mouth on hers played over and over in her head. It felt better than she had expected. It felt like power. She wanted to tell her mother right away, to share how it had gone and how close she was to taking everything Eirene had promised her. But when she came earlier, her mother was in a meeting.
She knocked twice, breathless, before letting herself in. Eirene was seated at her dressing table, a lamp glowing beside her, reading a letter. She looked up and took Rowena in with a quick, assessing glance. The expression on her daughter's face told her everything: excitement, adrenaline, and a sense of triumph.
"You look pleased," Eirene said, and then she smiled in a way that always made Rowena melt. It was the smile Rowena wanted to earn.
