Page 161 of Dark Little Game

And now he’s dead.

It’s like we’ve all just woken up from a nightmare.

One that none of us are going to be able to recover from quickly.

But Briar and Kai are in prison, and the warring families aren’t going to be able to threaten us anymore. We were informed that the Zhang family had been imploding for years now, and the few remaining loyal members were apprehended along with Howard Zhang.

For the first time all semester, we are safe.

I’d almost forgotten what it felt like.

Three weeks later,all the leaves have fallen from the trees.

I sit with Hunter in the front living room of Onyx House, in a comfortable silence as we both study for exams.

The fireplace crackling fills the air, and some of the other guys are over in the back room, playing poker, and more are in the kitchen cooking up a big pot of pasta.

Things feel more normal than they have all semester.

Ifnormalis even something that can exist.

With each passing day, I’ve been there for Wes and Hunter. Every time they have a fit of white-hot rage. Every time they shed tears for the father who failed them.

And for the first time in their lives, Hunter and Wes are bonded together as brothers in a way that they’ve never been before.

If there’s any silver lining to this storm, it’sthat.

“Hey,” I say softly to Hunter now, closing my history textbook and scooting over on the couch to be closer to him. “How are you doing?”

“I think my eyes are going to fall out if I read one more word about Henry the Fifth, but otherwise, I’m okay.”

I rest my arms on his shoulders, bringing him close and leaning in to kiss him.

At first it felt strange, being able to kiss him anywhere I wanted, not worrying who was going to see us.

But now it would feel impossiblenotto do it.

“I keep thinking about Lune, lately,” he says as he pulls back a little.

I let my arms stay around his shoulders as he looks off at the fire, crackling away.

I watch the reflection of the flames dance in his eyes.

“I’m sorry, Hunter.”

He shakes his head. “It’s okay. I think of Lune all the time, to be fair. But now… now there’s something a little sweeter about it. It might sound crazy, but I’m glad she didn’t have to be here to see all of this.”

I rub his shoulder. “I understand.”

“She’s free from all of this. From who our father really turned out to be. I miss her more than anything, but I’m so glad she’s free.”

“You’re the strongest person I know, Hunter.”

He puffs out a little breath of air. “Is that right?”

“Of course. I don’t know how you do it. How do you manage? When it feels like the whole world is going to swallow you whole? Whennothingfeels hopeful anymore?”

He turns and rests his forehead on mine.