Chapter 570: Crumbs and Consequences

Laia turned to Sophia first.

Cat was half a second behind her.

They both stared at her with awe.

"You," Laia said slowly, "are fucking badass." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Cat’s hand went to her chest first, then it moved, and she started fanning herself rapidly, like she needed air.

"I’m not into women," Cat announced to the room. "I want to be very clear about that." She paused, fanning harder. "But I could have a rethink. For Sophia."

Sophia burst out laughing.

"I’m already taken," she managed.

"I’ll take your crumbs then," Cat said, completely serious. "Whatever Alpha Orion doesn’t want, I’ll take it."

"Not sure there’ll be crumbs for you because it’s obvious he wants everything," Dren muttered, making the others laugh.

Cat shook her head slowly, gaze still on Sophia. "You’re a genius. An actual genius. And now I’m sitting here thinking I should have stayed with the group and fought the beasts. I could have seen it with my own eyes."

Laia nodded vigorously. "I would have loved to see it too." She paused. "But then again, if we’d both stayed with the group, we’d have missed what happened with she who shall not be mentioned."

The room shifted immediately.

Heads turned.

"What happened?" Dren asked, leaning forward.

Laia looked at Cat. Cat looked at Laia.

"Where do we even start?" Laia said.

"Brynhild," Cat said simply.

Laia nodded. "Brynhild."

"What about Brynhild?" Nia asked.

Laia straightened in her chair, settling in with the particular energy of someone who had been waiting to tell a story.

"So we all know Holly left Sophia to die, but the truth is she didn’t just do that, she also tried to kill Sophia," she told them.

Sophia said nothing. She looked down at the honey cake in her hand.

"My mother told me," Dren said slowly, "that she is no longer a member of the pack. Officially."

Laia nodded. "She was sent out. Alpha Orion and Brynhild dropped her off themselves." She let that land for a second. "But the best part—the absolute highlight—was before that."

"Brynhild," Cat said again.

"Brynhild," Laia confirmed.

"What did she do?" Micah asked.

Cat leaned forward with shining eyes. "She beat her up. She walked into the dungeons and asked Holly if she left her sister—that’s Sophia, by the way—to die, and Holly told Brynhild that Brynhild’s sister was dead."

"She had the nerve to say that to her face?" Nia asked.

Laia nodded. "Yes, and then when Brynhild found out that Holly actually did leave Sophia to die—oh my days! She beat the living daylights out of Holly."

Cat nodded. "And Holly tried to attack Brynhild too, but she perhaps forgot that Brynhild was captain for a reason."

Nia made a sound of deep satisfaction. "I’m swooning."

"I wish I’d seen it," Micah said.

"It was," Cat said, pressing both hands to her heart, "like watching a goddess work." She shook her head in reverence. "I’m straight. I know I’m straight. But I could have a rethink for her."

"You just said the same thing about me," Sophia pointed out.

Cat turned to her without missing a beat. "I’ll take your crumbs and Brynhild’s crumbs," she said. "Both. Together. I don’t care. You are both so unbearably badass, and I want to be exactly like the two of you when I’m older."

"Right?" Nia asked with a laugh.

Sophia shook her head, a smile still on her face. "I genuinely don’t see myself as badass," she said.

"That’s the problem," Joren told her. He pointed at her. "You are too good, and you don’t even know it. Do you know how it felt watching you out there?" He shook his head. "I could lay down at your feet, Sophia. I genuinely could. Maybe I should."

He started to move.

"Don’t," everyone said at the same time.

Joren paused.

"Stay where you are," Dren added firmly.

"I’m just saying—"

"We know what you’re saying," Nia told him. "Sit down."

Joren sat back with a wounded expression, reaching for a piece of flatbread.

Sophia laughed quietly, then set down the remainder of her honey cake on the cloth spread across the bed. She straightened slightly.

"I actually came with news too," she said. "The results of the test will be posted tomorrow."

The shift was immediate.

Every head turned toward her. The easy and comfortable teasing disappeared.

Dren still had a half-eaten piece of chicken in his hand. He lowered it.

Micah swallowed.

Joren turned to look at her with wide eyes, his voice dropping to something quieter than usual.

"Really?" he said.

Micah let out a short, light sound—not quite a laugh. "That’s fast," he said.

No one else said anything for a moment.

Sophia looked between them.

"What’s wrong?" Sophia asked.

They all looked down at the same time.

Then Cat spoke.

"We didn’t finish the test."

Sophia looked at her.

"I was close," Dren said quietly. He set the chicken down properly on the cloth, not reaching for it again. "I was close to finishing, but I didn’t."

Micah exhaled. "Nia and I had just started the second part of the test." He rubbed the back of his neck. "And then the signal came."

"Same for me," Joren said. His voice was still quiet. The lightness from earlier had drained out of it.

Sophia looked at each of them in turn.

"Me too," she said.

Nia looked up at that.

"But Sophia," she said carefully, "even if you didn’t finish—you don’t want to officially be a warrior, guard, or a hunter. You said so yourself. You’re safe regardless of how the results come out."

The others nodded.

Sophia didn’t argue it.

But she also didn’t look away from them.

She watched Dren stare at the cloth on the bed like it had answers in it. Watched Micah rotate his shoulder absently, the one that had been aching. Watched Joren pick at the edge of the flatbread without eating it.

Watched Cat, who was now quiet.

She took a slow breath.

"Stop it," she said.

They looked at her.

"Stop this," she said. "All of you." Her gaze moved across the room, steady. "The results aren’t even out yet. You’re all sitting here looking like you’ve already failed, and you don’t even know what the result says."