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My chest goes hot and tight “No We’re not doing this We’re not going to play self-recri the blame around If it wasn’t my fault, then it wasn’t your fault, either My father outplayed us Noe have toin a breath “We can’t keep running He’ll just catch us again and then we’ll be right back where we started” Without Grace to act as convenient willing victirounded for the first ti “We have to strike before he has a chance to regroup”

8

“We’ll talk about our next steps toive me a chance to respond before he sweeps me up and turns a slow circle “Where are the bedrooms?”

Maybe I should argue, but the truth is I’ fast and I just want to spend so with them Azazel proh to expect that to be true indefinitely, it should be true tonight at least I don’t even think we’re in the same state

I point at the stairs “Up”

It’s not until Malachi sets me on the bed that I realize Wolf and Rylan aren’t with us Where did they—

“Ensuring the bodies are never found”

I startle “I forgot about the ” It was still so new before my father showed up, I’d barely cohts since I never learned how to shield Speaking of… I press my hand to nancy was draining , and I feel better, but it’s hard to trust him He said it was a suppleh to verify it”

Malachi poked his head into the door leading into what I assume is a bathroos me to my feet “Let’s shower”

“Don’t tellto conserve water” My joke falls flat as he leads me into the bathroom

“No” He turns on the shower and faceselse, but not that”

My hand drifts to my stomach but I drop it before it makes contact “I don’t knohat to think It feels like I’ve been barreling toward this goal, but now that we’ve accomplished it—or started to, or whatever—it feels unreal I don’t kno I feel” I should feel so, shouldn’t I? The people on the conant treated it as a rapturous experience that was both deeply eht from the moment they realized they’d conceived