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"Maybe," I tease He likes it when I do that He likes me playful He likes my sht I lost this side ofelse

He rolls leam darkly at me in the shadows of the rooo al and deep untilis lost

On the fifth htly watch Caden and I get our food and sit doith Junie I watch Caden play with his ers, his cheek feathering with tension After several more minutes, he finally stands "Wait here"

Junie looks up, appearing annoyed at the interruption to her story of how she broke the nose of a boy twice her size when he decided he wanted to take on a carrier

I grab his hand andwith you

With a curt nod, he leads the way We check Terrence’s room first Then Caden checks the showers We search everywhere, all the while trying not to look as though we’re hunting for anything in particular

After we’ve searched every possible inch of the coround There’s only one place left to look Caden starts up the stairs I follow, feeling everyone’s curious gazes on us as we ascend

Caden’s worried for his friend enough to draw the attention of the others, including the traitor, to us He races over the iron grate, swinging right into the tunnel His tread clangs loudly, shaking the floor under us His shape disappears as the tunnel darkens I follow, my hands stretched out in front of low alerts uish echoes down the tunnel When I catch up, he’s on his knees, his body a darker shadow in the gloom My blood runs hot and cold all at once He crouches over so I can’t quite identify that’s spread out on the floor before hiulp a breath,hard

"Cade" My voice is so soft Like I’ive any real power to it Afraid of the response I’ll hear

I shuffle nu forinside me already knows

Caden athers Terrence close, lifting the bighand to his shoulder and lesup my windpipe