“I passed out on shift and woke up just before we clocked out. Then remembered what happened and ran away, rather than face Casey like a man. Or woman.”
I grimaced as more flashes of the night before came back. I turned around to find Kaos perched on the kitchen counter, grinning at me.
“Holy shit,” I said, almost jumping out of my skin.
“What does eyyyoh mean?” he asked with fake innocence.
I ignored him, turning back to Jade. “Did you kiss Hugo?” I asked. “And Casey?”
Kaos wrinkled his nose. “You kissed Hugo?”
“Shhh! Why do you think I’m hiding here right now?” Jade grumbled, throwing something at him.
“The prophecy is fulfilled,” he muttered to himself, catching the throw pillow and hugging it to his chest.
There was another knock on the door, this time a loud rap that made me wince and Jade groan.
“You might need to hide,” I told her and Kaos, going over to peer out. An exhausted-looking Casey was standing there, an almost panicked look on his face.
“Sorry, Miss Laurel,” he said. “Do you know where Miss…Shaun is? They didn’t come back to the dorms and I’m worried.”
“Jade’s here,” I told him. “Come inside.”
“Traitor,” Jade grumbled from the couch.
Casey hovered nervously by the door until I practically forced him to sit down, then I roped Kaos into making more eggs—and bacon—for everyone while I put on a big pot of coffee.
I spread out the food and coffee on the kitchen counter, my heart lifting as everyone gathered around to eat. I only had two barstools, but that didn’t seem to matter.
It was a beautiful morning, with sunlight filtering into the dim room and making my villa into something of a home. We only needed Ocean, Jule, Finch, and Hugo, and we’d have everyone I’d ever cared about in one place.
But Ocean was half-feral, Hugo was locked up, and if Jule was still alive, he and Jade hated each other, so that fantasy crumbled as soon as it had formed in my brain.
Finch’s text came through when all the food was gone and Casey had passed out on the couch. I scrolled through it as Jade grabbed him a blanket.
Finch: I’m making our move tonight. If everything works, we’ll be out of here by the end of the week. I’m also doing what I can to find out about your brother.
I felt a breath on my neck and found Kaos peering over my shoulder.
“Your brother?” he asked after he’d read Finch’s text.
I shook my head. “I don’t know,” I replied. The end of the week didn’t give us much time. “The last solid thing we have on him was him leaving the cells with Ashton Vass.”
“Then we have to ask Ashton what he knows,” Kaos said simply.
I nodded, thinking. I needed to find out Finch’s timeline. If I was going to interrogate Ashton, it needed to be right before we left, otherwise I’d be facing serious consequences.
“Did you remember anything else about Jule?” I asked Kaos. I still didn’t understand why he cared. Jule had broken him, according to my father. I could feel panic and pain stirring in Kaos’s mind, his face shuttering as he thought about it.
“I didn’t want to fight after him,” Kaos said slowly.
I nodded. “Father sent Jule to try and get you to fight again. Or kill you.”
Kaos swallowed, and I reached out and squeezed his hand. He closed his eyes, hanging his head. “He led me to the tunnels,” Kaos said quietly. “Then… fresh air. Bright light. Home.”
“So, he did help you escape,” I said, relief coloring my tone. “Thank you.”
That gave me hope.
