Chapter 116 Die For You

Chapter 116 Die For You

ARDEN

“Seriously, why did byou /bhave to be /bhere?”

Tessa sighed by my side, leaning against the cold brick wall. If I told her that behind this wall were three. skeleton bodies of young women like us, would she be freaked out? She definitely would.

But she didn’t need another source of trauma. I nced at her and found bruises on her neck, a cut on her brow, band /bred bmarks /bon her bwrists /bband /barms.

“Are you alright?” I asked before anything else.

“bI’m /bfine, she waved me off with bthe /bsame sweet smile that always made me feel better. “You shouldn’t bhave /be, though. bI /bwas nning on leaving some evidence that would lead to Mr. Winters once he killsollime./li/ol

“Imagine–a mediocre female student dies in the hands of the esteemed headmaster. That would make a great headline.”

“There are three lies in that statement,” I muttered. She turned to me and raised a brow.

“First, you’re not mediocre. You’re genuinely one of the prettiest girls I’ve ever seen. bSecond/b, that wouldn’t make ba /bgreat headline. It’s tragic. Sure, people would read it, but I wouldn’t want to. And three,” I muttered softly, meeting gazes with her. “You’re not going to die.”

Tessa sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. “One of us has to, Arden. And for sure, it’s not going to be you. I just hope it’s quick and easy. But I can endure a long one for you. Run bas /bfast as you can and be /bback for my body, alright?”

I let out a deep breath, about to refute her statement, when we heard Winters chuckling upstairs. It seemed he was on a call with somebody, enjoying the recent increase in his percentage.

“Yes, I know. I’ve already ordered a new chair for the office. I’m thinking of merging the offices, too. I mean, my office is already next to Bethany. With me as both Praetor and bthe /bbheadmaster /bof Elite, I can have arge space, right?”

He chuckled again, making me grimace.

“I thought he was going to take ba /bshower,” I muttered.

At least once he was in the bathroom, we could find some kind of exit in this ce. He didn’t know that Cade and I had been here before, so I knew that aside bfrom /bthetch right babove /bbus/b, there was another exit. However, that bmeant /bbypassing his presence.

“Did he do anything to you?” I asked, ncing at her once more.

She closed her eyes and appeared to be in pain. “No,” she muttered. “He gave me something, though, so I feel tired more than usual. I couldn’t even get a single p on that bastard. So, when the time reallyes, byou /bshould run as fast as you can

I clicked my btongue/bb, /bslightly ring at her. “Why are you speaking like that?”

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Chapter 116 Die For You

She chuckled once, trying to lighten the mood. However, even then, I could see her hands sharing Tea was trying to be strong for me.

“Like what?” she asked.

“Like you’re going to die.”

She sighed and leaned her head against the wall again, letting out a deep breath. “Because like I said, bI /bbfeel /blike one of us can only bescape/bb, /band it’s not me. You’re far more important, Arden. If you die..

She choked on her words before gathering herself once more. “If you perish, I know that Fenra’s not going to be the greatest. I mean, it already isn’t, but you know what I mean. I wouldn’t be there to witness it, but I just… I know you have a lot more to do for this country”

“bAnd /bI know more people are going to mourn your death.”

“Tessa,” I muttered in a slight scolding tone. “Don’t say that. Your existence is just as important as mine.”

“I love you. Owen loves you. Ro-”

I stopped right at that moment and shook my head. She also turned to me with wide eyes.

“Your sister loves you,” I corrected myself. “There are a lot of people who will be devastated if you’re gone.

Tessa sighed softly, leaning her head back against the wall, her voice nearly swallowed by the bcold /bsilence between us.

“My sister actually doesn’t like me.”

“What?”

“What do you mean?” I asked bagain/b, turning fully toward her.

“Didn’t she share everything with you regarding Elite?” I added, trying to make sense of what she was saying. “You said you knew a lot about Elite because of her.

Tessa chuckled lightly. “Yes, well… she did. But that’s just her way of bragging. She was showing off how ay of bragging. She was showing off how much the system worked in her favor.”

I stared at her, stunned.

“I know a lot because of her,” she went on. “But that doesn’t mean she likes me. She never really has.”

“But she sent you to Elite,” I muttered, recalling some of Tessa’s past stories.

“That’s because she didn’t want me back home,” “Tessa replied, with a bittersweet smile. “She wanted to prove I couldn’t survive this world. That I’d crumble in it. It’splicated. My family isplicated.”

I opened my mouth to respond, but nothing came out. I’d always thought of Tessa as bthis /bbright, unwavering sun–someone who glowed so naturally that darkness never seemed to cling to her.

But now, I realized there were always shadows amidst bthe /blight.

I guess we have that inmonb,/bb” /bI murmured.

Chapter 116 Die For You

She turned to me with a raised brow and chuckled. We understood each other in ways others did

So, I was even more determined to keep her by my side.

“Even if you say all those, you’re not going to die,” I said with conviction.

Mr. Winters‘ voice still echoed above us, loud and olmoxious as he bragged to someone over the phone

He really needed to take a damn shower already.

“You’re definitely not going to die.” Tessa echoed softly. “You’re not sacrificing yourself for me.

“No one’s sacrificing anything.” I said firmly. “Except for Mr. Winters.”

I clenched my fists and leaned my head back against the wall beside her.

“I know Cade bwill /bfeel it,” I whispered under my breath, “He’lle.”

“With Rowan, too,” I added.

Tessa chuckled again, and I could tell it wasn’t sarcastic. It was just full of longing. “Cade, yes. But Rowan? iI /idoubt it.”

I pursed my lips because even I was unsure about that.

The darkness around us felt tighter than before. The small beams of light from the creaky wooden floor above barely reached down into bthis /bcer–like room.

I reached into my pocket slowly, pulling out the object I had hidden since I got here. It pulsed gently in ithe /idark before showing a glowing light

Tessa turned toward me quickly. “What’s that?”

“I don’t know,” I admitted, rotating it in my palm. “Winters didn’t get to search my other pocket. thankfully.

“I found it here in the forest back when I was lost,” iI /icontinued. “I still don’t bknow /bwhat it really is, but it brings mefort.”

Tessa stared at it, mesmerized.

“And I have a ifeeling/ii,/i” I added, gazing at the wooden crest with a small smile, “ithat /ithis will help us.”

“You and your mysterious werewolf guti,/i” she teased softly, the smallest glint of hope returning to her eyes,

I chuckled under imy /ibreath and closed my hand around it again. “It’s never failed me before.”