Aria headed back to the room, her steps soft but deliberate, not going as far as to enter when she realized that Zyren wasn't inside.
She needed to speak to him right after she was done speaking to Jared, and it couldn't wait until the next day. Every passing hour pressed on her chest like weight she could no longer bear.
Steadily, she turned away and headed straight to his study — the one place she half expected him to be at such an hour. Her footsteps echoed faintly down the dim corridor, brushing against the soft light of wall sconces that flickered with amber flames. Her pulse picked up as she reached the dark wooden door, hesitating for only a second before she knocked.
The familiar sound of her knuckles against the surface broke the silence, and when she heard no objection, she turned the handle and stepped inside. Relief washed through her to see him there, even though he wasn't seated at his desk where she half expected him to be.
