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209: Puppets And Panic

Author: FlyingDove
last update Last Updated: 2025-01-19 01:50:52

ELIJAH’S POV

Eva’s eyes flickered around the room, wild and restless, like a bird caught in a cage. Her chest rose and fell with quick, shallow breaths, and her fingers clutched the edge of the table until her knuckles turned white.

“What if we can’t figure it out in time?” she whispered, her voice trembling as though it might shatter under its own weight. “What if they come for us before we even know who it is?”

I leaned against the desk, feigning a calm I didn’t feel. My stomach churned with unease, a dull ache radiating through my ribs, but I kept my voice steady.

“That’s not going to happen,” I said, though the certainty in my words felt borrowed, hollow. “We’ve survived worse, Eva. We’ll survive this. But we can’t falter. Not now.”

Her laugh was sharp and brittle, cutting through the room like broken glass. She raked a hand through her disheveled hair, her movements jerky with frustration.

“Worse than this? Are you kidding me, Elijah? Vivian is dead. Do you get that? Dead. And wh
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