I kept one hand on the door.
"For what?"
"To ask you something."
"That sounds like the beginning of a trap."
"It isn't."
"Most traps don't introduce themselves properly."
I stepped into the hallway and closed my bedroom door behind me.
"I only need ten minutes."
Shadric glanced towards the staircase. My mother's voice drifted up from downstairs, sharp with exhaustion as she argued with someone about seating changes.
"Not here."
"Where then?"
"Come with me."
"To where?"
"The estate."
I laughed. "You're wasting time already."
"I'll bring you back."
"You always make decisions before asking."
"This is me asking."
I paused. There was something different in his face tonight. Something closer to a request.
I reached back into my room, picked up my phone, and walked past him.
"
