Chapter 26

Josephine’s POV

“What are you doing sitting all by yourself with a long face?” Elle’s voice echoed across the room.

I looked up at once, dazed by the sound of her voice. I had not realized that Elle had returned from wherever she’d gone to a moment ago when she’d mumbled under her breath before rushing off.

It was the end of the semester, and everyone seemed to be in a hurry to put things in place while they waited for their guardians to come to pick them up. Then, there were others like Elle who were supposed to fly all the way down to where they came from all by themselves because their guardians were either too busy to journey down there to do them the honor of picking them up, or they’d concluded that they were mature enough to take themselves home.

I smiled nervously, trying to shift the focus away from me.

“What are you up to, Elle?” I asked, turning my position on my bed so I could look at her fully. “Are you done packing?”

Elle was folding