章 15: Chapter 15: Mutually Beneficial

I barely make it in the door and I can’t help a giggle from bubbling up. The look on Rick’s face was priceless. Carl is staring at me with a very confused expression, which makes me laugh even harder.

“Are you okay, Miss Raven?” he asks me. I am hysterical now, the emotions from the past week overflowing out of me in a less than ideal way. I take a deep breath and try to calm myself, but little giggles keep escaping as I answer him.

“I’m perfectly well, Carl,” I reply. He gives me a strange look and I giggle some more, then head up to my room before Rick catches me, with Carl trailing behind me and scratching his head.

As soon as I enter my room, another messenger bird flies through the window and drops another compact on my bed. I open it and Rowena’s face appears, but she looks worried.

“Raven! I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to mess things up!” she cries and I can see tears in her eyes.

“What are you talking about?” I ask. My good mood is replaced with a sense of foreboding.