"I don't know."
For a moment, nothing but silence filled the hallway as everyone stared at Atlas. He raised his brows, noticing the confusion on their faces, including Slater and Hugo, who had been with him in the Order all this time.
Penny and Zoren looked especially taken aback, as if what he had said was something… unimaginable.
"You… don't know?" Penny repeated, utterly confused.
Hesitation gnawed at Atlas's chest, but he nodded. "Mhm. I don't know."
Just as he expected Penny to react strongly, her lips trembled, and her eyes widened. Before she could say anything else, she stepped forward and hugged him.
"Oh, poor you," she muttered, patting her first brother's back. "It must be so hard for you."
Atlas furrowed his brows, looking down at his sister as she hugged him and spoke as if consoling a small child.
"Not really," he replied flatly, but it didn't stop her.
