The girl looked as though she wanted to say something, but every time Aveline glanced her way, she looked away too quickly, nervous and uncertain.
Aveline's patience had been thinning with each passing day. The pressure of being watched, whispered about, and avoided had started to wear on her nerves. Also, she couldn't get inside the archduke's lab. He had locked the doors and she couldn't slip in. She was not in a great mood these days.
So, without thinking too much about it, she followed the girl.
She caught up to her in a narrow, dim alleyway between two wings of the Arcanum, where the stone walls held the cool, damp scent of moss and shadow.
The moment the girl saw her, she recoiled.
"Please, don't hurt me!" she shrank back against the wall, fear flashing across her face.
Aveline stopped short.
Hurt her?
Before she could decide whether to be offended or confused, the girl rushed to explain in a trembling voice.
