I AM THE AUTHOR

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

It was a high-celinged room, with multiple skylights, and a delicate glass-and-iron-frame roof. teal banners with delicate embroidery portrayed frowning dukes. Books were shoves into every shelf, but there was no one there. 

"What friend?" I said, and Bog nodded at the pile of books in the center. Theres your friend. Bog said, and I peered into the pile of books. The desk was piled to high with them that I hadn't even seen Zal. He was sleeping, snoring soundly, head resting on an open book. 

I gently moved the books around ot make a semi-chair of books and sat down on across from Zal. With all the chaos going on every time I had seen him, I hadn't had time to ogle like a proper fangirl. So this is the payoff of my writing. 

Brown hair, sharp yellow eyes that would have been captivating, if not for the dark dircles under them. I had written Zal in as a lazy but talented genius who led the role of duke well, but only did the bare minimum. He always preferred to do paperwork and such at night, which led to multiple late nights, and, over the years, eyebags so deep it too multiple bottled of concealer to hide them. But he wasn't duke yet. The reason he had become duke at 18 was when the catastrophe struck - the Ruthim empire assasinated the duke. Levi hid Zal in a small cupboard and pretended to be Zal - and died in his place. 

Which meant another problem to add onto my plate. Just great. "At this rate, I'll have to go head-to-head with the empeor of the Ruthim empire." I sighed. But, for now, I didnt have to worry about anything since the assassination was 8 years away.