Chapter 37

VALERIA. I stagger back in shock, my heart nearly crawling to my chest. Auric stands back as though he’s also shocked, but he rearranges his features into a smile. “Hi,” he says lamely. “I… I didn’t know Eden is going to be here.” Eden looks at him solemnly. “I can just leave if you want.” “No, don’t go,” I say, not really knowing what to do. On one hand I want Eden to stay so we can catch up, but on the other hand, I just want to get things over with Auric so he won’t have to get caught sneaking in here. “We’ll just go out.” “Okay,” she says, burrowing under her covers and closing her eyes. I feel bad for her. After everything that we’ve seen, I know that she’s going through a lot. I want to comfort her but Auric hovers over me and beckons me to exit the room with him. We go to the hidden garden behind the dorms. We both sit on the opposite side of a bench, and finally, we're all settled. He wastes no time and looks at me. "I heard about what happened earlier. About you passing