CHAPTER 56

"Why are we leaving?" Maxine whispered, her voice heavy with confusion, silent and still in the shadows as they crept towards the back gate. It was 3 a.m., and the night lay still. The guards weren't patrolling the estate this time of night, and the silence around them only seemed to include the weight that hung above.

“Shh! We have to be silent," Trevor said, his head flicking round over one shoulder. His usual lightness and vivacity gave way to a weightiness, an importance which unnerved Maxine. Urgency streamed through his very movement, every tensing step of his body.

“But tell me why first," Maxine insisted, her frustration evident. She wasn't one to blindly follow without understanding what was happening, especially in the dead of night with no explanation.

Alph walked ahead and half-turned, his gaze catching hers in the dim light of the moon. "Just follow me, Maxine," he said, his voice steady but carrying an edge that told Maxine there was no room for argument.

Maxine puckered