The Messenger( Iva) novel Chapter 259

Ride-2

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Lori’s heart had sunk.

*Maybe it’s better this way, she told herself. *A quick goodbye would only make it harder.*

She grabbed her bag and walked toward the entrance.

The academy grounds were quiet-most students were in classes, leaving the pathways empty and still. Lori’s footsteps echoed on the stone as she made her way toward the parking area, where Iva had arranged for a car to take her to the castle.

She was so focused on her own disappointment that she almost missed the sound.

A horn.

She looked up.

A large SUV-black, sleek, with tinted windows that reflected the morning sun-was parked near the gates. It honked again, soft and insistent, as if the driver had been waiting for her.

*Probably my ride,* Lori thought. *Fancy.*

She adjusted her bag on her shoulder and walked toward the vehicle.

The driver’s door opened.

And Lori froze.

Attia stepped out of the car.

He was not wearing his usual formal attire. No crisp button-down. No tailored jacket. No headmaster’s mask.

He was wearing dark jeans that hugged his hips and a white cotton shirt with the sleeves rolled to his elbows, revealing forearms corded with muscle. The fabric stretched across his broad shoulders, thin enough to hint at the powerful body beneath.

His chocolate skin glowed in the morning light.

Lori’s mouth went dry.

She had seen him in suits. In formal wear. In the kind of clothes that commanded respect and demanded distance.

But this-this casual, unguarded version of him-was something else entirely. He was mouth-watering.

He looked approachable. Human. Hers.

“W-what are you doing here?” she stammered.

Attia’s lips curved into a smile-a real smile, warm and teasing, nothing like the cold mask he wore in public.

47

Ride 2

“Miss Thompson, your ride is here,” he said.

He walked around the front of the SUV and opened the passenger door, gesturing with a flourish.

Lori blinked.

“What is happening?”

Attia’s smile widened.

“You didn’t really believe that I would let my mate travel by herself and attend the ceremony alone, did you?”

Lori’s heart stopped.

“What?”

He laughed a rare, low, rich sound that sent shivers down her spine.

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“Relax. Iva and Caleb invited me. They knew I would bring you.” He leaned against the open door, his dark eyes glittering. “I just wanted to surprise you.”

Lori stood frozen, her bag slipping from her shoulder.

“You’re coming with me?”

“To the royal castle. To the ceremony. To wherever you go.” His voice dropped, softer now. “If you’ll have me.”

Lori’s eyes burned.

She crossed the distance between them in three quick steps, dropped her bag at his feet, and threw her arms around his neck, not caring if someone saw them.

Attia caught her-of course he caught her-pulling her against his chest, burying his face in her hair.

“You’re impossible,” she whispered into his shoulder.

“You like it.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Your heart is saying it.” He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “It’s beating so loud I can hear it.”

Lori pulled back just enough to look at him.

His eyes were soft. Vulnerable. Hopeful.

“Thank you,” she said. “For coming with me.”

Attia’s hand cupped her cheek.

“There is nowhere else I would rather be.”

He helped her into the passenger seat, loaded her bag into the back, and slid behind the wheel. The SUV purred to life.

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< Ride ?

As they drove through the academy gates and onto the open road, Lori watched the campus disappear in The side mirror.

She was leaving.

But she wasn’t alone.

And somehow, that made all the difference.

The drive to the royal castle was long-several hours through winding roads and dense forest. But Lori didn’t mind.

She spent the time watching Attia.

The way his hands gripped the steering wheel. The way his eyes focused on the road ahead. The way the sunlight played across his profile, highlighting the strong line of his jaw, the slight curve of his lips.

Every few minutes, he would glance at her.

And every time, she felt her heart skip.

“Stop staring,” he said, not looking away from the road.

‘I’m not staring.”

‘You’re staring.”

‘I’m admiring.”

Attia’s lips twitched. “Same thing.”

‘Different thing. Staring is creepy. Admiring is romantic.”

He laughed-that low, rumbling sound that made her insides melt.

‘Admiring, then.”

They drove in comfortable silence for a while.

Then Lori spoke.

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