ETHAN
My brothers had still not spoken to me yet. Ever since the night they caught me with Vanessa, we had not had any reasonable conversation. I understood why—they thought I had betrayed them, that I had chosen to meet with our enemy in secret. In truth, I had been as shocked as they were when Vanessa contacted me. But explaining myself didn’t matter. In their eyes, I had crossed a line.
So I kept to myself. I ate alone. Even when we had to attend classes together, I sat at the far end of the classroom, watching as they gisted together while I sat aloof like the outsider. It stung, more than I cared to admit, but I wasn’t about to grovel.
That’s why I was surprised when, late the next vening, I heard footsteps approaching behind me as I walked across the courtyard toward the dorms. I
