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Hector studied her for a moment, almost like he pitied her.
“The whole world could be in love with you and you wouldn’t even notice, would you? Like that weird kid, sitting here so he can stare at you for hours on end.”
“You mean Zach?” Helen shook her head. “Maybe two years ago I would have agreed with you, but not anymore. Zach hates me.”
“Then why was he camping out here on a Saturday night?” Hector asked dubiously.
A thought occurred to him and his eyes started scanning around until they finally landed on the counter. His face froze.
“He knows,” Hector whispered.
“That’s impossible. I never told him anything.”
“You always leave your phone out like that?”
Hector gestured to the countertop, and sure enough, Helen’s phone was sitting next to the rag she had been using. She never left her phone laying out at work, especially not since Orion had started texting her.
Helen stormed over and snatched it up, scrolling through the first screen that lit up. It was the entire thread of texts with Orion, including their plan to meet in the Underworld.
Zach must have stolen her phone out of her bag and gone through her messages. Helen stared at the screen, her mind frozen with disbelief. How could Zach betray her like that?
“He was at that track meet, too, wasn’t he?” Hector’s face was grim and his eyes were two shrewd slits. “I saw him on the edge of the forest, following you and Claire. Right before the Hundred ‘mysteriously’ appeared out of the trees.”
“Yeah, he was there,” she mumbled, still dumbstruck. “I trusted him! Not enough to tell him about my powers, but I never thought he’d do anything to hurt me.”
“Well, he knows, and he’s got to be giving information to the Hundred. That’s the only way they could have found me.” Hector looked over the text thread and sighed heavily. “And now the Hundred will know about Orion as well.”
The thought hadn’t occurred to Helen, but now that Hector brought it up, she felt a surge of panic. As a Rogue, Orion had spent his whole life hiding his existence from the House of Thebes, and Helen had unwittingly led them right to him. She started typing a frantic text.
“Make sure you tell him to ditch his phone,” Hector added as he began moving around the News Store, checking for any sign of an impending attack. Helen explained the situation to Orion as quickly as her thumbs would allow.
Orion didn’t seem at all surprised.
Before I ever even got in touch with you I knew they’d find out about me eventually. Don’t panic. I’ve prepared for this.
Helen couldn’t believe he was so calm. She relayed the compromised text thread to him, but he responded that everything that they had texted was indecipherable to others. He pointed out that there was no way for anyone to trace the phone number he was using back to his location and told her several times that he was safe.
They’re fanatics. They’ll kill you, she typed, unable to believe that he wasn’t already packing a bag.
Look, I don’t have 4 last names (that you know of) for nothing. Trust me, K? C u 2nite as planned.
Helen smiled at her phone, relieved that he was still willing to help her. Then she got angry. Orion had barely even flinched when she told him that he had been discovered. Didn’t he know how dangerous the Hundred Cousins were?
“What’s the matter?” Hector asked when he returned from checking the back alley and saw her stormy expression.
“He says he has it all taken care of.”
“Then don’t worry about him. Orion’s been outmaneuvering murder plots since he was old enough to walk. If he says he took the proper precautions, then he did.” Hector spoke with such perfect faith in Orion’s abilities to protect himself that Helen was left speechless. “You just focus on what you need to do,” he said over his shoulder as he glanced up and down the empty street. “I have to get back to Daphne and tell her about this.”
“You’re going out there?” Helen shouted in disbelief, jumping up to stop him. “But they could be hiding! There’s a new Shadowmaster, you know.”
“Think strategically, Helen. If the Hundred didn’t make their move minutes ago when I was unaware and vulnerable, that means they won’t strike tonight. The real question a good general would ask herself is, why aren’t they coming for me when they know I’m right here?” He eyed her thoughtfully.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked, pointing a finger at Hector and narrowing her eyes suspiciously. “What do you know that I don’t?”
Hector smiled and shook his head, like Helen had entirely missed his point.
“I know that there are a lot of people counting on your success. It’s so important, they’re willing to let me go without a fight to make sure your descent tonight isn’t disrupted.” He opened the back alley door and kissed her on the forehead. “Just don’t forget that the people who really love you need you much more than they need your success. Whatever you and Orion are planning for tonight, be careful in the Underworld, Princess.”
