Chapter 347:A little hope.

Chapter 347: 347:A little hope.

Ravenna turned toward them, tears already running down her face. She tried to speak but nothing coherent came out.

Mallory’s face paled. "Is it Shawn? Did something happen?"

She shook her head violently and lifted the phone towards them

"Silver."

Antony stopped, mouth open, ready to speak. Ravenna laughed but the sound broke halfway through and became another sob.

"He messaged me."

For perhaps two full seconds, nobody moved, then Antony crossed the room so quickly that he nearly kicked the low table.

"What?"

Ravenna tried showing him the screen, but her hands were shaking too badly.

"He sent me a message. Silver sent me a message. He’s alive. He’s alive, Antony, he sent it himself."

Antony grabbed the phone carefully before she dropped it. Mallory moved beside him. Both read and they were left speechless.

Then Antony’s entire face changed, a grin appeared.

"That bastard."

Mallory slapped his arm immediately.

"Antony!"

"What? He’s alive!"

Mallory’s eyes were already filling with tears. She took the phone from him and read the message again. Her hand covered her mouth.

"Oh, thank God."

Ravenna was crying openly now. She didn’t care about her face or pride. For days, everyone had given her possibilities. Silver might have survived and could be hiding.

The queen had poor eyesight. The collapse didn’t necessarily kill him. The system of tunnels was enormous. No body had been found.

There had been hope and believe. Every comforting statement had always contained uncertainty.

This didn’t.

Silver had written the message and was clearly alive. Ravenna suddenly snatched the phone from Mallory.

"I’m calling him."

She pressed his contact. The call attempted to connect. Ravenna held the phone against her ear.

Then...

Unable to connect.

Her smile faltered. She called again.

Antony watched, his breath held. The second attempt also failed.

Ravenna immediately typed.

Where are you?

She pressed send but the message remained undelivered. She typed another.

Are you hurt?

Undelivered.

Another message.

Silver answer me.

Still nothing.

Panic tried to return. Antony crouched beside her.

"Ravenna, look at what he wrote."

She looked at him.

"He said he’s still underground. He probably got a tiny signal for a few seconds."

"But he sent this."

"Exactly. He found enough signal to send one message, and then he lost it. That doesn’t mean something happened."

Mallory nodded quickly. "Antony’s right. If he had proper signal, he would’ve called. Silver wouldn’t send one short message and ignore you."

She looked at the screen again.

Still underground but climbing out.

Her breathing steadied slightly.

"He was climbing."

Antony nodded. "Which means he’s moving."

Ravenna read it again. She finally saw the word moving and finally got it into her head. Silver was not lying somewhere waiting to die or trapped beneath rubble unable to escape. He was climbing and had found a route.

She started crying again, this time she laughed with it.

"That idiot."

Antony smiled. "There she is."

She wiped her face furiously. "He made me think he was dead for three days."

"I don’t think that was intentional."

"I don’t care."

Mallory sat beside Ravenna and wrapped both arms around her. She immediately hugged her back, Mallory was crying too now.

"You were right."

She buried her face against Mallory’s shoulder, her tears soaking the dress Mallory had been wearing.

"I knew he was alive."

"I know."

"I knew he wouldn’t die there."

Mallory tightened her arms around her. "I know you did."

Antony looked away for several seconds, giving them what little privacy was possible while standing in the same room.

His own relief was enormous.

No matter how many times he reminded himself that there hadn’t been another option, some part of him had wondered whether he had carried Ravenna to safety while leaving Silver to die.

Now he finally had his answer, Silver had survived. He rubbed both hands over his face, then he started laughing.

Ravenna pulled away from Mallory and looked at him strangely.

"What wrong with you?"

"Nothing."

"Why are you laughing?"

Antony pointed at the message. "Because of course that’s what he sends after disappearing under a mountain for more than three days. Not an explanation or his location. Just ’I’m alive, don’t come back, I’ll find you.’"

Ravenna looked at the message. Her expression softened, then hardened again when she reached the fourth sentence.

Don’t come back.

She suddenly stood. Antony’s smile vanished.

"No."

Ravenna looked at him. "I didn’t say anything."

"You stood up like you were about to do something stupid."

"I’m going to find Shawn."

Antony and Mallory stared at her. She wiped her face and started toward the hallway. Antony moved directly in front of her.

"Absolutely not."

"Move."

"It’s nine at night."

"I know what time it is."

"The academy’s evening release ended hours ago."

"I don’t care, Shawn is inside. I need to tell him Silver contacted me."

"You can call him."

Ravenna stopped, then immediately pulled out her phone.

"Fine."

She called Shawn.

The call rang once before diverting. He was also unavailable. She frowned and tried again only to get same result.

"His phone is off."

Antony spread his hands. "Because he’s inside the academy."

"Then I’ll go there."

"No, you won’t."

She glared at him but Antony held his ground. Mallory quickly moved between them before the argument became physical.

"Ravenna, Shawn told you he would contact you when he had something. He can’t leave the academy now anyway."

"He needs to know Silver is alive."

"And he will know."

"Tomorrow isn’t good enough."

Mallory took her hand. "What will change if you stand outside the academy gates tonight?"

Ravenna opened her mouth but nothing came out.

Mallory continued more gently. "Silver’s message doesn’t tell us where he is. It doesn’t tell us which tunnel he’s in. Shawn can’t reach him tonight just because we show him the message."

She looked frustrated enough to throw something. Antony pointed toward the phone.

"And there’s another problem."

"What?"

He tapped the message. She followed his finger.

Don’t come back.

Antony raised an eyebrow. "He knows you."

Ravenna glared.

"He knows you extremely well."

"Stop enjoying this."

"I’m not enjoying it. I’m pointing out that the man apparently caught a signal under an entire mountain and used part of his precious message to specifically tell you not to come back."

Mallory almost smiled despite the tears still on her cheeks.

He continued, "Do you understand how predictable you must be for him to prioritize that?"

Ravenna stared at Silver’s message. Her anger slowly collapsed into another wave of emotion. He had known, of course he had.

Even trapped underground, he had known that the moment she discovered he was alive, her first instinct would be to return to Death Row Valley herself. He’d stopped her before she could even try.

Her shoulders dropped.

"I hate him."

Antony smiled. "You’re crying because he’s alive."

"I can do both."

"Fair."

Ravenna returned to the sitting room. and lowered herself onto the floor again. Mallory sat beside her while Antony returned to the sofa.

Nobody watched the television anymore. She kept staring at the message, every thirty seconds, she refreshed. She tried sending another message, still undelivered.

She didn’t care as much now. Eventually Silver would get another signal and when he did, her messages would be waiting.

Ravenna typed one more.

She stared at it before sending.

I’m in Alpha Three. Antony and Mallory are safe. I found Shawn. We’re getting you out, so don’t you dare disappear again.

She pressed send. She smiled anyway.

"He’ll get it eventually."

Mallory leaned against her shoulder. "He will."

Antony picked up the remote and muted the television completely. "You realize nobody is sleeping tonight."

She looked at him. "I can sleep."

Antony and Mallory stared. Ravenna lasted approximately three seconds.

"Fine. I can’t sleep."

He laughed.

She threw a cushion at him which he caught it. Mallory laughed through her remaining tears.

The room descended into chaos again. They talked over each other while Ravenna occasionally reread the message repeatedly.

Antony started speculating about how Silver had survived a Rank Six queen and three days underground. Mallory kept asking Ravenna to stop refreshing the messages every ten seconds.

She ignored her.

At one point she started crying again for no apparent reason and then became irritated when Antony noticed.

It was messy, loud, emotional and completely ridiculous. None of them cared because Silver was alive. Ravenna eventually stopped participating in the conversation. She sat against the sofa with her knees pulled toward her chest and her phone held in both hands.

Silver’s message remained open. She pressed the phone against her chest and closed her eyes. Her cheeks were still wet, but there was a smile on her face.

For three days almost four, she had been telling herself that Silver was coming back. Now she didn’t need to tell herself anymore.

Silver was alive and trying to get back to her. She opened her eyes and looked at the message one more time.

"Take as long as you need," she whispered, knowing he couldn’t hear her. "Just come back."