“They can.”
Morgan glanced at me, and her skeptical expression mirrored mine. “They can, but they shouldn’t, right?”
Landon shrugged, and I mouthedbingoto Morgan when she looked back at me.
“I can hear you, Lady Everly. And I’d like to remind all of you that you don’t know who is in your group yet. If the rival gang escapes first, they win.”
I pursed my lips, since there was no way he’d heard me say anything, and he just knew me too well. But I took his advice and shrugged at Morgan.
She winked, communicating that she understood.
Izzy, who’d been walking beside me, whispered so only I could hear. “I hope we’re grouped together again. I’d hate for one of us to lose and the other to win.”
“Me too.”
Especially since we still had no idea what happenedifwe won or lost. A fact that used to annoy me, but now…well, it still annoyed me, but I let it go. Some answers weren’t worth risking my chance to get to the end.
“Do we still get to try and escape if our team ditches us or the other team wins?”
“Yes.”
“Is there a time limit?” Angela asked.
Surprisingly, Max answered. “No. You’re stuck in there until you figure your way out. So, don’t dillydally or whatever. I don’t want to be up all night because you all can’t sort your asses from your elbows.”
I smothered a laugh by pressing my lips together, because honestly, who said things like that? But one of the other Ladies wasn’t able to keep her giggle in check.
“Something funny,Elaine?”
“Nope. Just wondering how you got picked for this? Are we supposed to be intimidated by someone who saysdillydally? Seriously, at least, act the part.”
My eyes flashed to Izzy’s, whose mouth had dropped open to form a perfect little O foroh shit, no, she did not, while I lifted my eyes skyward because only a higher power could save Elaine now.
And she had no idea she was fucked.
“Well, Elaine, just remember you said that when the trial begins. Because, as it happens, I’m the guard overseeing your gang. And I’ve noticed you’ve been stepping out of line, which means we might just start this off with a trip to lockdown. Understood, inmate?”
Elaine huffed and said nothing else.
I risked a glance back at Max, and this time, he winked at me. He still acted like a storm cloud had permanently fixed over his head, but it was something. A small sign he wasn’t closing off for good.
I’d take it.
With that renewed incentive to get this done and get on to other activities, I had a little extra pep in my step as we reached the cabin.
The largest cabin on the lake was a giant replica of our cabins from the Honor Challenge. As if four or five, at least, had been put together to create the sprawling lakeside mansion, it was way bigger than all of the houses I’d lived in with my parents. Probably combined.
Surprise, surprise.
With a gorgeous wood exterior, wrought-iron framing on all the windows and light fixtures, and darkly stained doors, it looked like it belonged in the mountains. Various flowers planted in the beds around the cabin provided a vibrant array of color, and the back porch was set with patio furniture, and everything one might need to spend endless days by the lake and every evening watching the sun set together.
I had to admit, it was beautiful.
Until we stepped inside.
They had fully converted the interior into a prison with different cells and a central space with cafeteria tables. Most of the lights were out, but one of the fluorescent bulbs they’d hung from the roof flickered sporadically, giving the prison an eerie vibe that only increased when the other Knights came into view.
A few wore prison guard outfits. But I spotted at least two prison cells with Knights inside dressed as inmates. They had used costume makeup to draw on tattoos, old scars, and streak the walls with dried blood. With the poor lighting, it looked real and creepy as fuck.
