The two young men who had just entered the room locked eyes with Ryan.
It was James and Jared, the two brothers from the hideout.
For a moment, none of them spoke.
Then, at exactly the same time:
"You?!" Ryan blurted out.
"Ryan?!" the young man said.
Eleanor stepped forward, her mismatched eyes widening. "James? Jared?"
James's attention snapped to her. "Eleanor! You're alive too!"
Jared's sharp gaze swept over both of them, his expression unreadable. "We thought you were both dead."
"No thanks to you two," Eleanor replied.
An awkward silence settled over the room. James shifted his weight, glancing at his brother, then back at Ryan and Eleanor. His expression was conflicted, somewhere between relief and guilt.
Jared broke the silence first. "You both made it out of the Foles forest."
"Barely," Ryan muttered.
