We work in silence for a few minutes. He hunts for more food, and I stand at the sink, filling one of the pots he’d found with water, then taking it back to the stove to heat. I appreciate that he doesn’t feel the need to cover the silence between us with casual chitchat. All the same, it feels strange not to at least acknowledge his support.

“Thanks, by the way,” I mumble. “For helping us.”

“Nothing to thank me for.” He grunts again, this time from the small pantry near the back door. “I was a Squire before you were even born, Crown Scion. As far as I’m concerned, this is what I signed up for.” He leans back to catch my eye, watching me for a moment. He hesitates before adding, “I know… I know you didn’t sign up for any of it. I’m sorry this is how you were brought in.”

“Yeah. Me too.” I murmur. “It’s been really, really hard.”

“I—” He looks as though he might say more, brows furrowed in some thought I can’t read, but instead offers a weak smile and shakes his head. “Anyway.”

“Still,” I say, trying to shift the mood, “you signed up to hunt Shadowborn. Protect humanity from evil. Not hide a group of kids from the Regents.”

The pantry’s accordion door makes a scraping sound on the floor when Jonas closes it, like the hinge isn’t level. “Who says the Regents aren’t the evil in this scenario?”

I turn. “Is that what the Lieges think?”

Jonas crosses his arms over his chest. He regards me fully for what feels like the first time all night. Taking in my face as if judging whether to proceed. Something in my expression must be convincing.