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“OH, I’M SORRY,” LUTHOR SAYS “I DIDN’T MEAN TO INTERRUPT ” While his face is ier on the inch of exposed skin aboveers will poke through the handwoven material

“What do you need, Luthor?” Elder asks I’m not sure if the impatience in his voice is because Luthor interrupted us or because Elder kno close Luthor is to Bartie’s plans for a revolution Elder twists around to look up at the man “Stars, Luthor, what happened to you?!”

Now it’s my turn to smirk at his black eye and busted lip

“Nothing of i I can’thandlemyself ”

I don’t let my face betray my fear

Luthor sneers down atsoftly to himself as he meanders down the path away from us

“Thatnuisance,” Elder says “The only reason he’s been helping Bartie is because he likes trouble for trouble’s sake ”

“Yeah,” I say in a hollow voice Before Luthor interrupted, I was going to tell Elder about the stairs and everything else I’d found out thismy words

Elder turns his full attention to ?” When I don’t answer, he adds, “A? About Luthor? Did Luthor do so?”

A hand wrapped aroundoff the circulation ininto that little space over the blue veins under my palm But when I look down, it’s my hand wrapped around my wrist, not Luthor’s

I open my mouth

“Tell me,” Elder says

I can’t

It’s too late I can’t change the past, and it will only upset him I can’t explain why I never told hi afraid to put what happened into words and being worried about what his reaction would be I let too one outside during the Season And even though I know, logically, it’s not et—

His body straddlingwhat he was doing The way he watchesplaces The way his thu my skin under his touch