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SPINNERS END. ┕━━━━━━━★━━━━━━━┙
BRIAR SAT ON THE FLOOR of her room for most of the night. As soon as she'd bolted the door behind her, her legs had given way and she'd collapsed onto her carpet. For what seemed like hours, her body couldn't move. Finally, once the daylight began to stream in through her bedroom window, she opened her eyes and realized that she had to do something.
Getting to her feet, she wobbled over to her desk and pulled out a quill and a sheet of parchment. Her hands trembling, she tried to write. Her quill blotted constantly, but she managed to finish the letter and rattled Amber's cage to wake her up. Tying it to the sleepy owl's leg, she stroked her wing gently.
"Be quick, Amber. And wait for a reply," she whispered softly to the owl. Then she walked over to her bed, pulled out an old duffel bag, and started to shove in her clothes and other belongings. By the time she'd gotten everything she needed, she zipped up the bag and sat impatiently, waiting for Amber to return.
At about nine am, a knock sounded on her door. Briar ignored it, but the knock sounded again. Her father' voice came in muffled through the door. "Rose? Are you awake? Why is the door locked?"
Briar froze. She couldn't face him, not now. But if she didn't open the door, she knew that he would find some way to open it easily. Taking a deep breath, she slowly walked over to the door and unbolted it. Her father walked into the room, his face stern.
"You're awake. Good. We need to talk."
Briar sat on the bed silently. She couldn't bring herself to speak. Even if she did, she had no idea what she'd say. Christian D'Alessio stood stiffly, and glanced at the packed duffel bag on her bed.
"Are you going somewhere?"
"A friend's house," Briar replied. "She invited me over for a few days."
"Your mother said that was on the 25th."
"I decided to prepone."
Christian paced the room for a few seconds, his expression stern. Then he glanced up at his daughter. "Briar, I want us to be frank. I know that what you saw last night may have surprised you-"
Briar laughed drily. "Surprise? Father, surprise is when you get an expensive gift for your birthday. What I felt last night was far from surprise."
Christian stared at her. "So you already knew."
"I saw Lucius's Dark Mark. I thought he was a misguided boy. I had no idea that this was actually a family business," she spat.
