?Chapter 497:


    The crack of a dry branch snapping under my foot pierced the silence, loud and jarring.


    Instantly, the soldiers nearby were alerted. Their heads snapped in our direction, and they started moving toward us.


    My heart raced, panic seizing me. My body was too weak to run far, and after just a few steps, my legs buckled beneath me.


    But Evie acted swiftly, wrapping her arms around me and hoisting me up with surprising strength. Without a word, she carried me to safety, weaving through the corridors with a speed that left me breathless.


    Within moments, she had found a lumber room, slipping us inside.


    Makenna’s POV:


    The lumber room was a shadowy, damp space, thick with a musty odor, but I didn’t have a moment to dwell on that right now.


    I pressed myself tightly against the wall of the lumber room, peering anxiously through the narrow crack in the door.


    The soldiers had pursued us to this gloomy refuge and stood ominously at the entrance.


    One of them frowned and turned to the soldier who had first detected the noise, asking, “Did you really hear something? There’s nothing here.”


    The soldier rubbed his head, muttering in bewilderment, “Could I have actually misheard?”


    They exchanged wary nces before slowly drifting away, murmuring among themselves.


    Finally, they vanished!


    Crack…


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    Just as I was about to let out a sigh of relief, something creaked behind me, jolting me and sending my heartbeat racing like a wild horse.


    I spun around in fear, only to see something shifting behind a mountain of clutter.


    The sound wasn’t that of a rat. What could it be…


    Evie also heard it. She sprang to attention, darting ahead of me and muttering, “Whoever’s in there,e out now, or don’t me me for being rude!”


    Something continued creaking behind the pile, but no one emerged as Evie finished speaking.


    Evie turned to wink at me warily.


    I instantly understood, scanning the room for something we could use to defend ourselves.


    My eyesnded on two sticks in the corner, and relief surged through me. I grabbed them, handing one to Evie while keeping my gaze fixed on the source of the noise. Evie took the stick, her eyes fierce. She took a deep breath and kicked the pile of junk hard. It scattered across the floor with a crash.


    In the next moment, Evie raised her stick and shed it down hard behind the pile.


    I gripped my stick tightly, holding my breath, ready to step forward and help her at any moment.


    With a resounding ng, the person hiding among the debris reacted with lightning speed, snatching up a nearby nk to block Evie’s strike just in time. Then, with a quick roll, he darted to the side.


    Despite his quick reflexes, he couldn’tpletely evade the force of the stick, and it still grazed his shoulder.


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