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"Any news?" she asked

Jacin leaned against the door, his shadowed eyes caught on the ceiling He seeely disheveled "No"

Cress pulled her knees into her chest "What’s wrong?"

Still entranced by the ceiling, he muttered, "You disabled the caain? To any cameras in the palace?"

She reached for her hair The habit of fidgeting with it was hard to break, though it had been short for weeks now "If I had access to the systeain

Cress frowned Jacin was rarely chatty, but this was unusual even for hiet you access to the syste cameras?"

His chest rose and his focus traveled down the bare stone walls and landed on Cress "You’re leaving You, Winter, and that redhead girl are leaving the palace Tonight"

Cress hauled herself to her feet "What?"

"Winter can’t stay here, and she won’t leave without that friend of hers You help et thee his teht? You can find her She’ll keep Winter safe She better keep her safe"

Suspicion crawled up her spine at the et inforains? He’d done it before

"It will look suspicious if a bunch of cao down at once," she said

He nodded "I know, but hopefully you’ll be gone before anyone notices"

She gnawed on her lip She could put them on a timer, try to make the blackouts seelitch, but even that had the potential for being discovered

Jacin had started to pace She could see his thoughts churning A plot was foruess how he planned to sneak the thenizable

"What happened?" said Cress "Did Levana find out about e of his nose now "She’s going to have Winter killed I have to get her out of here I think I knoay I can set it up, but…" His eyes turned pleading "Will you help me?"

Cress’s heart squeezed In the little time she’d known Jacin, he had struck her as cold, heartless, even cruel at ties, ready to tear apart

"By disabling the cameras?" she asked

He nodded

She looked at her portscreen Though she’d detached it froraph node when she scuttled beneath the cot, the connector cable was still dangling froet away froers She could be with her friends again She could be safe, tonight

The teet out of here

But when she turned her face up toward Jacin again, she was shaking her head

Bewilderment flashed across his face