21
With the dormitory behind me, I crossed the paths of the Academy towards the Barn. I passed a couple of Valkyrie students, but nobody seemed surprised or bothered to see me. Whatever the teachers told them about our absence clearly hadn’t been the truth.
So much for that…
At least that made my task of disappearing easier. If they’d insisted on keeping an eye on me, it would be even harder to find the Forest of Illusions.
“Hey!” a cheery voice said as a face bounced up next to me. “What are you up to?”
“Hey, Aellyn.” I quickly balled up my blazer to hide Pickles’ ears sticking out. I didn’t really want to answer any questions about the dust bunny.
“Are you okay?” She joined me along the path, her pink hair happily bouncing up and down.
“Yes, just glad to be outside.”
She nodded.
