Page 179 of Fractured Allegiance

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It's near dusk now.

The penthouse windows are tinted, but I can still tell by the fading light slicing through the blinds that the day’s crawling toward 5PM or 6PM.

Which means Silas is coming, he’s probably going to spend the night here.

And I have no idea if he even knows what he’s walking into.

My hands won’t stop shaking.

I press my palms to the marble countertop and focus on my reflection again.

I force myself to repeat what I know: This isn’t your first cage. It won’t be your last. You always get out.

But this isn’t about getting out anymore.

It’s about what they’re trying to break while I’m in here.

I hear voices in the hallway. Muffled. Male.

Then footsteps.

Then silence.

I turn toward the door.

Waiting.

And then I hear it—the sound of someone taking position outside.

A shift of weight. The quiet rustle of fabric. The barely-there exhale of someone settling in for a long night.

He's here.

Silas is standing guard outside my door.

And I can't see him. Can't touch him. Can't even speak to him.

But I know he's there.

Just on the other side.

So close.

And completely unreachable.

I move to the door. Stand with my back against it.

On the other side, I imagine him doing the same.

Two inches of wood between us.

And a thousand reasons we can't break.

I close my eyes.

And I wait.

Chapter 20 – Silas - Burn to Ash

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