The house was warm and smelled of breakfast, and my mother appeared from the kitchen before I’d fully closed the front door crossing the hallway quickly, arms already open.“Kai.” She pulled me in and held on, and I let her, dropping my bag at my feet and leaning into it in a way I would never have permitted myself anywhere near the academy.“I missed you, Mum,” I said into her shoulder, and it came out more honestly than I intended.She pulled back and looked at my face with the focused attention of someone taking inventory. “Stop being childish,” she said, but her hands were still on my arms and she was smiling.“Where’s Maya?”“Coming soon.” She smoothed my collar once, a small habitual gesture. “Is Noah’s father home?”“No — he went to work early.”“And your brother — didn’t he come with you?”I opened my mouth.“I’m here.”Noah’s voice came from the doorway behind me — quiet, composed, the perfectly calibrated politeness he deployed with adults who hadn’t given him a reason to be
อ่านเพิ่มเติม