Serena:
By the time Anna led me toward the eastern wing, I had stopped trying to make sense of anything Alexander had done that night.
None of it sat right with me. I did not like it, I did not trust it, and I certainly did not trust him.
Anna walked a few steps ahead, glancing back every so often as though she expected me to collapse from whatever she imagined had happened in Alexander’s chambers. Her concern was gentle and clumsy at once, and it made me more irritated than grateful.
“You really don’t have to keep checking on me,” I said. “I am fine.”
She straightened as if I had scolded her. “I apologize,” she replied. “I am not trying to bother you.”
“You said that already.” I muttered.
“I know,” she answered, and then, as if trying to lighten the moment, she added, “I’m trying
