"Where am I?" Derek muttered, staring up at the ceiling in confusion. "Wasn't I in the cavern?"
"You're awake?! Finally! You gave us a hell of a scare," came a relieved voice from beside him.
Turning his head slowly, Derek saw Henry sitting nearby.
"How are you feeling?" Henry asked.
"I'm… okay," Derek replied weakly. "But where am I?"
"You don't remember?"
"I do, but everything feels like flashes. I was fed something and then…" Derek's words trailed off as fragments of memory resurfaced. His eyes widened suddenly. "What… what happened to that girl? And Leo? What about him?" He sat up abruptly, his heart racing.
"Senior Emma is safe," Henry said, his tone heavy. "But Leo… he's dead."
Derek froze. "He's dead? What happened?"
Henry lowered his gaze. Though he had never liked Leo — and Derek hadn't either — knowing that someone from their own class had died still left a knot in his chest. No matter how arrogant Leo had been, it wasn't easy to accept that he was gone.
