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24. Asteroid

"Yeah okay, whatever. I don't care what he is. He's annoying and talks too much. You can't tell him that I work for Ivy. If there's anything I can help you with – "

"Help us escape."

"-aside from escaping...."

Damn. "Okay fine. I need to find a way to get out of the castle. I will come back. I just need to snoop around."

He let out a sound that sounded like a chuckle but I can't tell because his face is still looking grumpy. "What, you think Queen's Garden is a mall?"

"No but it should have one. I miss going to the mall."

He shook his head. "Putting you out there is like putting a rat in a field full of cats."

I grinned. "I don't know whether to be offended that you compared me to a rat or to laugh because you used a cat analogy which is ironic because – Never mind. I'll be careful, okay? I just want to know what Florencia is planning to do with all these people. She must have a special room where she does her evil plans. Every villain has one. Unless you have a mind palace, then you win."

He paused for a few seconds before clicking his tongue. "I'll think of something."

"Cool." I gave him a smile. "By the way, what's your name?"

"Don't worry about it."

And with that, he opens the door and leaves. Not another word or glance at me. Is everyone in Ivy's pack kind of intimidating looking? Or do I just get intimidated easily?

This is good news. At least now I know we're not entirely alone in this castle. We have someone that can help us. Thank goodness for Ivy. I wonder where she is right now. I wondered where she was when Florencia came to Jupiter. I thought she would show up at the first chance to face Florencia. Then again, I know she's also taking care of other things. She mentioned that her pack is trying to bring people in a safe place, away from Aquila, so she must be busy.

Going out of the stuffy room a few seconds after the wolf, I instantly see Zander. He is walking in the middle of the hallway and his violet eyes first watched the wolf, then they lingered onto me.

"I swear it's not what it looks like. First of all, he's like twelve. Second of all, he told me something that I can't say to you not because it's bad but because you may spill out the beans."

The witch shrugged his shoulders. "I was just giving you the look because your shirt is backwards."

"It is not."

I looked down and sure enough, it was indeed backwards. No wonder I felt weird this entire morning. I thought it was those annoying feelings making me feel strange, but turns out my shirt is just backwards. Phew!

I ran back inside the small room and fixed my plain navy blue shirt. When I returned outside, Zander was waiting for me, leaning against the wall with a grin on his face. "What are you smiling at?"

"You know what."

Ugh.

Now he's going to tease me forever, now that he knows I'm attracted to him. The moment I agreed to go stargazing with him, I gave that fact away and now I have to live with it.

"The pie thing." He snickers. "So funny."

I turned to my side, where he's walking, as the two of us made our way towards the dining hall of the castle for breakfast. "That's what you were grinning madly about?"

"Yes." His lips then spread wider. "And also, you tried to kiss me. I didn't forget."

I immediately felt my face burning.