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“I don’t intend for you to be hit with another dart,” he says

I shakedart fro me”

“You vastly underestimate my abilities, huntress”

I smile, sadly “That’s because I’ve overestimated your abilities before and you failed me”

His face looks crushed He couldn’t preventraped He couldn’t keep me safe From that point on, my life was different

Langston reaches out and grabs the back of my neck as his thumb strokes my cheek “There is no reason you should trustyou I was young and stupid and cocky I’rown up now and have experienced the world I won’t fail you If Ito keep it Even if it kills me”

Everything insidenot to trust him

17

Langston

Liesel doesn’t believe that I’ll do anything to protect her, and she shouldn’t But it’s a vow I’ll keep all the same

“Maybe we should tell each other everything on our half of the letter? Stop hiding secrets from each other, so we have all the inforators astray? Or at least if only one of us survives, we can have the inforo after the treasure ourselves,” she says, suddenly, completely out of character for her

“You’re willing to giveyour life over, just like that?”

She stills and then blinks “Yes”

“And hoould I trust that anything you said was the truth?”

“You’d know, just like I’d know if you were telling a lie”