She pushes herself off the bed and heads for the door. “You can ask him yourself. He’s granting you an audience.”
I drop my pencil and get to my feet. “What? He is? When?”
“Now,” Yulia says. “Come with me.”
I abandon my vandalism immediately and follow her out of the room. On the walk there, I try to compose myself. I compile a list in my head of all the things I want to bring up with him. As it turns out, it’s a very long list.
I’m so distracted I forget to pick up my feet. I trip on the bottom step of the grand staircase and again on the edge of a carpet that runs the length of the absurdly long hallway.
“Calm down, girl,” Yulia scolds lightly just before she opens the door. “Showing fear will get you nowhere.”
“Fear is all I have right now.”
She grabs my hand so suddenly that I d
