LYALL:
Uncle Kendrick was waiting in the living room when I came out of Aria's room. Serene must have gone to bed, I could tell, as she was an early sleeper.
As soon as I stepped into the room, he turned to look at me with a smile on his face. I recognised that smile anywhere. That meant he had something to say and that he was displeased.
"Uncle, I'm really sorry I left the dining table in a hurry. An emergency came up and I had to quickly attend to it."
"Hm," He nodded and looked around. "An emergency that didn't shake this palace? I didn't hear guards running or boots thudding. There were no growls or blood stains around. How important could this emergency be that it had you leaving the dining room and disrespecting your guests?"
I didn't have to tell him anything. He didn't have
