Uriah stalked after the pair, practically fuming with every step. He was so pissed off, he wanted nothing more than to just grab Mavis and drag her away then and


    there.


    The thing that drove him absolutely crazy? That smile on Mavis''s face-real, genuine, glowing. He''d never seen her smile like that at him, not once.


    And she''d said she liked him, yeah, right. What a joke.


    She didn''t like him at all. If anything, she was into Norton. She was grinning at Norton like he was handing out winning lottery tickets.


    The more Uriah thought about it, the angrier he got. It was like a pressure cooker inside his head.


    A little ways behind, Calliope and Ss trailed after Uriah, not too close, not too far, watching the drama unfold. They were far enough from Norton and Mavis that they couldn''t really hear what was going on, but Uriah''s bodynguage was loud and clear: the guy looked like he was about to explode.


    "Jeez, he''s about to pop a gasket," Calliope muttered, shaking her head.


    "And Uriah says he doesn''t like Mavis? If that''s not jealousy, let Valerian eat a Philly cheesesteak upside down." Calliope snorted.


    Ss just stared at her for a second, his blue eyes dark. "Make it the whole family. They can all have cheesesteaks standing on their heads."


    "Exactly," Calliope agreed, then shot him a startled nce. Was she being too crude? She thought of Blythe, all sugar and spice, and wondered if she should dial it back.


    But Ss just shrugged. "Say whatever you want. I like you exactly like this."


    They both kept their eyes on Uriah, sneaking around like a couple of amateur spies.


    "So, based on your expert opinion, what''s Uriah going to do next?" Calliope asked, leaning in closer.


    "No clue," Ss replied. "If he''s


    thinking straight, maybe he''ll decide to back off. But if he loses it, who knows, he might go ballistic right there in front of Mavis and Norton. Either way, he''s not exactly Mr. Stable. If he does lose his mind, it''ll be ugly. If he doesn''t, he''tbprobably just implode."


    Calliope smirked. "So he''s definitely not indifferent, huh?"


    "If he didn''t care, he''d be chill, or at least pretending not to care. Not...whatever


    this is."


    "Good. That means there''s still


    Vel


    hope." She raised an eyebrow,


    plotting already. "If we poke thr


    a little more, maybe he''ll finally spit out how he really feels."


    Ss had no objections. Whatever Calliope wanted, he was down for it. He didn''t ask questions, just waited for her to share the n so he could help however he could.


    They tailed Uriah for a bit longer, watching as he stopped at a little pet stand.


    "Why the heck is he buying rabbits?" Calliope squinted, baffled, as Uriah handed over cash and walked away with a box of fluffy bunnies.


    "Does he actually like cute little animals?" she wondered aloud. "I mean, Uriah''s basically a part-time mercenary. He''s more likely to have a pet wolf than a bunny."


    "Maybe he''s just going home to... I don''t know, vent his anger on them?" Calliope winced at her own words. "Ugh, that''s dark. But honestly, after today? Who knows what''s going on in that guy''s head."


    "I don''t think he''s that far gone..." Ss said, clearly ufortable with the image.


    "You sure?" Calliope gave him a skeptical look, but decided it wasn''t worth worrying about right now. They kept following.


    Meanwhile, Mavis and Norton were heading straight back to the hotel.