She wrinkles her nose in a smile. “There is good in the world, too, Arya. I’ll get the word around. If you leave me your number, I’ll call you if I hear back.”
Tears well in the backs of my eyes, but I blink them away. “Thank you.”
As I walk out, I remember something Ernestine told me the day we met.
Accept kindness. It’s the only way we can make it through this world.
Maybe she’s right. Maybe there’s still some hope for a happy ending.
Being back in my mansion is strange. I thought I’d be returning here as a conqueror. The world at my feet once more.
Instead… well, it’s not quite that.
I wander from room to room, wondering what’s missing. Everything is exactly the way I left it, so how can something be out of place?
Then I realize what it is.
The thought rises unbidden in my mind
