en'

me in a se

e vanished. The room was tiny, walls seeping with dampness, a narrow bed, a worn cabinet, windows seale

for a long time, calling out for a lon

to some deepest corner of my consciousnes

ld never favor me.

ay, a servan

d on the cabinet, then turned and left. I watched h

idn't

irl. As she set down the food, I

down, didn't look

I began studyi

possible, as if afraid of taking up too much air. I couldn't tell if she truly couldn't speak or had be

ay, I made

d to leave, keeping my voice very low. "I won't implicate you. I just need

eps fa

ontinued. "Help me, and I'll owe y

me once, then turned back, pu

r wasn'

seconds, then stood up, slowly walked

ridor w

tsteps, no guards changing shifts-just this

ped ou

r outside was bone-chilling in the early winter night, each st

courtyard, climbed over the low wall-the iron spikes on t

nn

again, got up again a

ea there, marked on maps as a thin line. Cross that lin

, and Caius cou

aw the first boundary marker on the other side of the border line. That p

to

ded to

ver seen him before-tall, no Blackstone Pack insignia, holding a gun pointe

ssing permitted," he said, his voice flat.

said hoarsely. "I'm begg

n ba

pped forward. "They'll-you don't unders

my gaze swep

, in the shadows with his face unclear, only his

hat person, instinctively feeling

, just a few more steps and that's enough.

he shadows d

ce, then turned as

oth figures disappeared into the night, clean and decis

rd sounds

orchlight filtering through the forest from

rom the boundary marker. I didn't know if people were surrounding me in the s

otsteps stop

ned a

uad of warriors, each holding torches that lit up

stood ano

o panic on her face, no guilt either-ju

p, and spoke to Caius, her vo

ly try to escape, Caius. A

it in her palm. He said nothing, didn't look at he

ing mockery: "You actually thought someone would help you. But

s scene, something in my m

cou

it was l

ld hav

d corridor, the unguarded courtyard outside-this wasn't ne