chapter 26(2)

I follow, peering around. So many doors make me wonder how many people live here. I should have been paying attention. The place is enormous, and I wander aimlessly, looking for which door he went through before he disappeared. Stopping next to the stairs, leading to the floor above, I stop. I try to fight off the shudder that runs through me, a strange urge to go to the floor above tempts me, and my feet halt. My hand grips the banister. I look up into the darkness that looms at the top of the stairs, the light he had switched on only reaches so far. I slowly find myself placing my foot on the step when suddenly I hear something behind me. “Ella?” Kyan’s voice pulls me away from the steps, and I glance down the hall. He is watching me curiously, his head tilted to the side, and his eyes darken for a second as shadows fall over his face. My heart does flip-flops at the nickname. I can’t explain it. Yet when he calls me Marabella, I feel like I’m being scolded. Ella sounds more familiar