Page 46 of Marks of Rebellion

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"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." I stuff the items in my bag, and Zoe comes over and hugs Vanessa.

"Stay safe. And make sure you eat what Dirk catches. Protein is important," I tease.

Zoe rolls her eyes and stretches her arms.

I lean down to hug her, and she says, "Don't forget your promise to me."

I groan. "I won’t. There just hasn't been time."

"Now's probably the best you'll get." she sings.

She's right. I need to apologize to Julieta before we leave. "Got it."

Dirk fist-bumps me then turns to Zoe. "Ready, my Little Diva?"

She snorts and tries to hide a smile. "As ready as ever, country boy."

"Are you two going to kill each other? I'm a little worried about you being in the jungle alone," Vanessa comments.

"I'm good. Are you good?" Zoe asks Dirk.

"I'm always good." He smirks.

Zoe snorts. "I'll see you later."

She and Vanessa hug one last time, and they leave.

"What was Zoe talking about?"

I sigh. "Give me a minute?"

"Sure."

I walk over to Julieta. "Can I talk to you?"

Ryker crosses his arms and raises his eyebrows.

"What's up?" she asks.

"Away from him?" I point to Ryker, and his eyes turn to slits.

She glances at him and softly laughs. "Yeah. Sure."

We go outside.

She starts. "I'm not looking—"

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have argued with you."

Silence.

"Are you going to say anything?"

"Nope. I'm waiting for you to continue."

"To continue?"

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