Turning away, she said, “Come in.”
“Ah. Thank you,” I mumbled, stepping inside.
The Aenlilea’s household seemed to be tearing itself apart from the inside out. Though the outside had looks just like all the other well-maintained Delfaethan residences, the living room I stepped into was in a severe state of disrepair. It seemed that equipment and parchment from her father’s workshop had traveled inside the house. It appeared to have been confined to a desk in the corner had now taken over the room.
The blonde walked over to the area that seemed to serve as kitchen. She opened a cupboard beside the woodstove and pulled out a mug for herself, then took the kettle when I offered it. As the girl silently made herself tea, I watched her face. It was preoccupied, but not particularly emotional in any fashion.
She was not a mean girl, I knew this even last night when she was trying to capture us. It was not her fault that Levent had fallen into her lap with no paperwork or means of getting out, nor her fault that one of her guards had unwittingly helped us escape. I fiddled with my hands in silence, anxious. I felt so terrible about this that I had nearly forgotten to feel terrible about finding out the dragon-kin’s secret. Actually, that had hardly come to mind at all since we arrived.
“Uhm,” I mumbled again, the blond looking up without a great amount of interest. “I’m sorry about what we did-“
The blonde waved her hand to stop me. “You don’t need to apologize.” It seemed as though someone did, though. “But don’t expect me to trust you.”
That did not make me feel any better. “Ah.”
She stirred some milk into her tea and walked way.
“Thank you,” she mumbled unenthusiastically. It was less an expression of gratitude than a dismissal. She said nothing more, and moved to leave via a flight of stairs at the back of the room. I could not let her go so easily.
“I’m Naitlya, by the way,” I blurted out, trying anything to get her to talk. At this point I would try anything make her a little more comfortable. As I watched the girl stop on the stairs and turn, my heart jumped in hope.
“Kewyn,” she said before she turned away.
She continued her way up the stairs and disappeared. I sighed. At least I knew her name now.