Country: Aurivelle
City: Cressford
Alvara
Morning arrived far too quickly.
I hadn’t slept at all.
I sat at the small kitchen table, already dressed for work, a cup of tea growing cold between my hands as I stared at absolutely nothing.
My mind was still trapped in what happened yesterday.
Or rather…
In him.
Grayson Hawthorne.
The memory of his voice replayed in my head whether I wanted it to or not.
Skill alone doesn’t equal competence.
I squeezed my eyes shut briefly.
Why did that line bother me so much?
“Alvara.”
My mother’s voice pulled me back.
I looked up to find her watching me from across the table, a hint of worry in her eyes. She had been moving around the kitchen all morning, but I hadn’t noticed until now.
“You’ve been staring at that tea for ten minutes,” sh
