Chapter 21

Lila I woke up with a start, blinking against the sunlight pouring through the window. The first thing I noticed was the time on my phone—9:48 AM. I shot up in bed, my heart racing. “Crap!” I cursed under my breath, immediately noticing the string of missed calls from Liam. He must’ve tried to reach me at least five times this morning. Frantic, I scrambled out of bed, grabbing my phone and dialing him back. My hair was a tangled mess, and I was still in yesterday’s clothes. Fantastic, just the way to start the day. Liam answered on the second ring. “Lila! Finally! I thought you died or something.” I rolled my eyes, already heading to the little lab corner I had set up across the hall. “I’m alive, no thanks to your constant harassment,” I teased. “I overslept.” “Well, you’re lucky I didn’t call Lord Ronan to go check if you were breathing,” Liam quipped, and I could practically hear his smirk through the phone. “Please don’t. He already has enough reasons to annoy me as it is,” I said,