Chapter Forty-Three

Rayne

I stand when Greta has left us alone in the tea room.

Veronica does the same yet she gives me a bewildered look. “What’s the matter? Are you going somewhere?”

I give her a confused look. “Should I?”

“Why should you?” she asks, opening her arms wide to gesture around the room. “You are not an enemy of ours, Rayne. There is no reason why you should not be here.”

I’m confused by this but I say nothing whatsoever. She says, “You can wait here for me. I believe I won’t take long. I’ll ask for more tea. Sit. We have much to talk about still.”

I nod and sit down though I wish I could leave. I watch her leave the tea room and wish that I could be more strong-willed. There is genuinely no reason why I need to be here while Alaska will probably be roaming the palace. This is why I was put downstairs, right? So we don’t cross paths? Because Max won’t appreciate the two of us being in the same place? I don’t understand anything that is happening now. Things keep getting more and more conf