"Ye—" I was about to answer the girl, a simple 'yes' ready on my lips.
Her offer was a lifeline thrown to a drowning man.
But a sharp, instinctual warning flashed in the back of my mind, telling me to look at Yara. So I did.
The shift was immediate and chilling. Yara, who had been a simmering pot of annoyance and anger directed solely at me just seconds ago, was now staring at the blonde girl.
And her face became even more worse. The tight-lipped frustration she'd shown me was nothing compared to the cold, hard mask that settled over her features now.
It was more than anger; it was a deep, profound distaste, a look you might give something unpleasant you'd stepped in.
The girl, sensing the change in atmosphere, averted her gaze from me to Yara.
Her warm brown eyes widened in recognition, and then, bizarrely, her smile came back even more brilliant than before.
It was like she'd found the one person she'd been hoping to see.
