Samson was at a loss for words a couple of days later when he ran into Emily in the hallway. Wells' threat loomed over him like a dark cloud. The longer he thought about it, the more he regretted telling Wells about Finley as well. He should have done more to keep the secret.

So, why didn't he?

Ever since he had revealed to Emily that it was his parents' choice for him to come here, there had a been a twinge of guilt in the pit of his stomach. He realized he had been so awfully eager to place the blame on his parents, even after all they had done for him.

And yet, even before Emily arrived, Samson begin to notice things about the Red Cloaks. He noticed the flurry of secrets Celosia kept from all of them. He found it quite challenging at some points to carry out Celosia's requests when he didn't understand the reasoning behind them.

Now, here he was, standing face-to-face with the one friend he had, who he had been avoiding for the past week. Emily did not smile at him. She merely raised her eyebrows, asking why he had been ignoring her without actually saying so.

"It's good to see you," was the first sentence out of his mouth, but it sounded somewhat insincere.

"Would you care to tell me why you've been completely avoiding me all week?" she questioned, folding her arms. "Did I do something wrong? What is going on, Samson?"

Samson winced.

Noticing that the halls would be crowded in a minute or so, he gestured for her to follow him down one of the empty hallways. He could tell she was narrowing her eyes at him. They finally came to a dead-end, and that's when Samson began to speak.

"I didn't want to avoid you," he began, slightly anxious that Wells was going to jump out from somewhere at any moment.

"Then, what's going on?"

Samson knew he needed to tell her what happened. He knew she needed to know about Wells and his threats. He thought for a moment.

"Samson," Emily warned, clearly growing impatient. "I have to talk to Celosia soon, so if you have something to say, please say it before I go."

"Wells told me he knows about you."

Emily paled, scanning Samson's face to confirm if he was being serious or not.

She ran a hand through her hair. "What? No, how? No, when? What did he tell you?"

Samson thought carefully again, his stomach twisting into a knot at the sight of Emily's fearful expression.

"Wells told me he overheard your conversation with Felix. The first time Celosia sent you to talk to him."

Emily groaned. "That conversation! Celosia specifically told me to gain Felix's trust. How else I am supposed to do that? How can Wells tell if it's simply an act or not?"

Samson's expression softened. "But you and I both know it's not an act—"

"So what? Honestly, so what? Wells didn't know that. He's just so eager to have me out of here, or killed probably," Emily hissed. "He's a dreadful, disgusting, conniving man!"

Samson nearly flinched.

Ah, there it was. Emily felt it again. A strong current of warmth coursing through her body. She took a deep breath, raising her head to look at Samson.

"Is this why you've been ignoring me?" she asked.

Samson nodded slowly.

"He threatened you somehow, didn't he?"

Another nod from Samson.

"Well then, what was it?"

Samson recalled the day. "He said he would turn you in to both Celosia and the Shadow. But he said if I ignored you and trained his daughter, that he would keep the whole ordeal a secret."

"Did you try to tell him I was acting to gain Felix's trust?"

"I tried to," Samson lied. "But he wouldn't listen to me."

The more he talked, the more he felt like he was being pulled in two different directions. He hadn't seen his parents in years, and only received two letters from them. And yet, he still felt guilty.

"There go my plans," Emily declared. "I'll have to figure out another way."

"What do you mean?" Samson asked.

"If Wells thinks I'm a traitor, who's to say he hasn't told Celosia already? This is Wells we're talking about after all," Emily explained. "I need to leave. The longer I stay here, the more I realize how right my Aunty was. This isn't the way to do it."

"After everything you've endured? After Sylvia nearly killed you at the Placement?"

Emily let out something that sounded like a laugh and a scoff. "Especially after that. I've been lucky so far that Sylvia hasn't successfully been able to kill me yet." She pinched the bridge of her nose, body growing hot again. "Although it's truly been a pleasure to meet you and Finley, I should have never come here."

"What-What are you saying?"

"I'm saying I need to leave as soon as possible. When the snowstorm settles...that's when I will leave," Emily answered.

The next words that came out of Samson's mouth surprised both him and Emily.

"I'll come with you!" he blurted.

There was a silence as the two of them processed what he had just said.

"Excuse me?" Emily piped up. "Are you serious?"

"I am," Samson said, feeling more confident. "I am serious. I'll come with you."

Emily's eyebrows furrowed. "And you're sure?"

"I am completely sure."

"I don't want to leave you here, but I don't want to pressure you either," Emily said. "I don't want you to feel like you're leaving your parents behind."

Samson paused, but eventually rolled his eyes in response. "Emily, you're not pressuring me into anything. I'm-I'm not sure about my parents yet, but I'm sure I want to go with you."

Emily scanned his face, searching for a possible falter in what he said, but she couldn't find anything. Samson looked so sure, so confident. But still, there was part of her who wasn't sure.

"So, when the snowstorm calms, we shall leave. We'll take Finley and Felix with us, before the Shadow arrives," Emily finally said.

"Right."

They parted ways, as Emily did not want to be late for her meeting with Celosia. She hoped Wells had held off on telling Celosia anything.

But most of all, she hoped they would be able to leave before the Shadow arrived.

--------------------------------------------------

Note: So, that was Chapter Sixteen. I just wanted to say, if you are enjoying the book so far, please feel free to leave a comment or vote. Also, if you have any favorite characters, feel free to let me know who they are and why they are your favorite. Any feedback is helpful. I have really enjoyed being able to tell this story so far. Anway, thank you for reading it and I hope you have enjoyed reading it so far. Thanks!

-IML