{IRIS}
"Iris!"
Caroline threw her arms around me the moment I stepped inside the dormitory.
It was already late.
If not for the academy's curfew, I probably would have remained in the gardens for a few more hours, wandering aimlessly beneath the moonlight.
The truth was, I hadn't wanted to face Caroline yet.
For reasons I didn't want to examine too closely.
"I'm so glad you're alright!" she exclaimed, tears shining in her eyes as she hugged me tightly. "I was so worried when you didn't show up after me. I thought something terrible had happened!"
She finally released me and immediately began inspecting me from head to toe.
"Are you hurt?" she asked anxiously. "What happened after that? How did you escape? What happened back there?"
The flood of questions exhausted me before I could even begin answering them.
I had spent the entire day trying not to think about everything that had happened.
About the vampires.
About Lord Val.
