Chapter 189

Aria

I watch Lola step into the room, her head turning left and right like she’s expecting someone to jump out of the walls.

“I think this is your chance to leave, Luna,” she says in a hushed voice, her eyes flicking toward my parents. “The elders are gathered in the meeting hall. You can actually leave now.”

My parents glance at each other, nod without saying a word, and then slip quietly out of the room like two teens sneaking out past curfew.

I’m still standing there with my arms half-crossed, eyebrows raised like I’m watching some kind of live-action soap opera. Because, seriously…what the hell is going on?

Before I can even finish that thought, a voice cuts through the air. “They’re leaving.”

I spin around so fast I almost give myself whiplash. My heart skips a beat, ready for anything…except what I actually see.

There’s a girl. Maybe my age. Long red hair, piercing green eyes, and this intense, no-nonsense expression like she’s