Flashback ( PDFDrive )

“Right,” Fitz muttered, wincing as Sophie tightened the knot on his
bandage to give the wounds some compression. “And let me guess—
you want us to run out there and check? Did you use that trick on the
guards? Is that why they’re not here?”
Alvar shook his head, his desperate eyes flicking from face to face
before lingering on his sister. “The guards heard the noises too. They
told me to stay here while they searched the forest. That’s what I was
doing when Fitz assaulted me—”
“Assaulted,” Fitz muttered.
“Look at me, Fitz!” Alvar snapped, pointing to his face. Even in the
dim light, Sophie could see that his lip was split and his nose looked
swollen. “I get it—you hate me. But I’m telling you the truth. I left my
apartment because I heard noises. And I haven’t touched my ankle
tracker, if that’s what you meant.” He turned back to Biana. “Please—
you have to believe me.”
If he was lying, he was the best liar Sophie had ever seen.
Biana looked convinced, especially when Keefe told them, “He’s
telling the truth. I’d be able to tell if he wasn’t.”
Fitz snorted. “Right—like you could tell with your mom?”
Which was a super-low blow.
But Keefe let it go. “There’s an easy enough way to know for sure.
We’ll ask the guards when they get back—see if they tell us the same
story.”
“They will,” Alvar assured them. “I’m sure they’ll be back any
second.”
But seconds turned into minutes. And when enough time had piled
up, Keefe had to block Fitz from lunging for Alvar again.