"Are you sure it's okay for me to come along?" I ask Thea as we make our way down the stairs to meet with Wyn and accompany her to her gown fitting. It's early in the morning, and after a full night of sleep, I finally feel more like myself. Of course, I can't deny the slight disappointment I felt last night when Nikki didn't show up, but I trust that he'll make himself known to me when he can.

"Of course it is. Wyn likes you, and she's thrilled we're going to spend a girls' day out. She already planned the itinerary for today, and after the fitting, we're going to grab sweet ices from our favorite shop."

"That sounds heavenly. Thank you," I murmur with a smile.

"She's so excited about the ball. It's going to be a success, I already know it—much better than mine was, anyway," she adds, rolling her eyes.

"That bad?"

"Worse." She sighs. "Barely any people showed up. It was just my parents' friends, but no one my age. Later, I found out they had organized another secret party at the same time to spite me."

"What?" My eyes widen. "Why would they do that?"

"Because why would they not?" She shrugs. "I guess they didn't see me as an equal. I wasn't exactly the best in my elementary training." She lets out a strained laugh.

"I'm sorry," I murmur as I reach for her, squeezing her hand.

"It's fine. I've had over three thousand years to forget about it."

"I don't think I'll ever get used to the way you guys casually speak about thousands of years. I'm barely an embryo compared to you," I joke, hoping to lighten the atmosphere.

"It's mutual, trust me." She laughs. "It's hard to wrap my mind around how little humans live..." she trails off as she suddenly stops, her brows bunched together in a frown.

She puts a hand up before placing a finger on her lips to tell me to be silent.

Tilting her head to the side, she looks deep in thought before a smile tugs at her lips, the tension from her shoulders dissipating.

"I'll have to make a small detour. Do you mind if you wait for me for a while? Wyn just got her first ryoku and she's freaking out."

"She got what?" I blink, but she's already walking away from me.

"It's her first ability," she says with a bright smile. "Feel free to roam around. There's a library at the end of that hall. You can have a look while I take care of Wyn."

"Sure." I nod.

"Great!" She exclaims, almost hopping with joy. "We'll join you in the library in a bit," she calls out, already at the bottom of the stairs.