Donovan walked onto campus the next day, slipping back into his usual routine. Everything was the same—the same paths, the same classrooms, the same people. And yet, something felt... off. A strange undercurrent of unease that he couldn’t shake.

It had only been two days since his last encounter with Koray and Connor, and yet they’d completely invaded his head. He told himself it was just a passing distraction, an annoying aftereffect of being blindsided by Koray’s sudden interest in him. But the more he tried to ignore it, the worse it got.

His eyes still gravitated toward Connor whenever he saw him, that was nothing new. But now? Now, his brain kept circling back to him—to Koray—and that was the problem.

Koray hadn’t reappeared since that day, and that frustrated him more than it should have. Every time he spotted someone with a similar frame or the same striking dark hair, his heart jumped, only to plummet when he realized it wasn’t him.

It was stupid. 

He had no reason to care whether or not he ever saw him again. What should have bothered him was how seamlessly Koray had inserted himself into Connor’s world. He had no doubt they saw each other regularly—there was an undeniable ease between them, something Donovan had never been able to achieve no matter how much time he spent watching Connor. 

He hated how much it got under his skin. 

Donovan sat through class after class, staring at his notes but absorbing absolutely nothing. His mind refused to stay present. Instead, it wandered, drifting between thoughts of Connor and Koray, comparing them in ways he hadn’t meant to. Koray was confident—too confident—carrying himself with an effortless charm that was completely different from Connor’s casual magnetism. Connor had always been the kind of person people gravitated toward without him even trying, but Koray? Koray was deliberate. Calculated.

The way he had spoken to Donovan that day, the way he had looked at him—it had been purposeful. Donovan scowled at his own thoughts. It doesn’t matter. He’s not even around. Stop thinking about him.

But the more he tried to push the thoughts away, the more restless he became. Days passed, and still, no sign of him. It was almost like he’d imagined the entire encounter, like he’d conjured up some mysterious stranger just to make himself even more of a mess.

Two weeks in, Donovan finally managed to shift his focus back to Connor. The frustration of Koray’s absence faded into the background, replaced by the same old routine of watching, analyzing, overthinking. And that was fine, normal. He’d only dreamt about Koray once last week. That meant he’d forgotten about him. Right?

Agatha barely gave it a second thought. Koray was gone, off handling business, just as she had planned. It wasn’t some reckless errand to have some time for herself—this was something the gang needed, a problem that required his particular skills. A deal to oversee, loose ends to tie up. She had made the call herself, weighing the risks and ensuring the timing was right—no distractions, no second-guessing, and with him gone, she could focus on herself for a change.

She settled into her routine, finding comfort in the familiar rhythms of school and her friends. They were a welcome distraction, something normal, something uncomplicated. And with each passing day, the tension in her shoulders eased. The paranoia that had kept her wound so tight for weeks was fading. Donovan was still there, still existing on the edges of her world, but he wasn’t at the forefront of her mind anymore.

And her friends had noticed the shift.

"You’ve been in a good mood lately," Allison remarked as they sat outside during lunch. "What, did your brother take all your stress with him?"

Agatha smirked. "Maybe I just needed some peace and quiet."

Connor snorted. "Yeah, because he was the one making all the noise."

Ezra leaned back, stretching his arms over his head. "He probably got sick of you and ran away to start his own underground empire. Honestly? I’d respect it."

Agatha rolled her eyes. "You guys are so dramatic."

They kept joking about it, spinning ridiculous theories about Koray’s disappearance—how he was off charming crime lords, how he had faked his own death, how he was secretly training an army in the shadows. Agatha played along, humoring them, but in truth, she wasn’t really thinking about him at all.

In quieter moments, when her friends' chatter faded, Agatha noticed something unsettling. The relief she felt in the penthouse wasn’t just about her brother being gone — it was more than that. For weeks, Donovan had lingered in her mind, a constant source of unease. Every hesitant step, every glance over her shoulder, had been because of him.

But now? Now she knew the truth. Donovan wasn’t a threat. He wasn’t plotting to unravel everything she'd built. He wasn’t going to the police. He was nothing.

Her friends seemed to sense her change in mood, wasting no time pulling her into their plans. They invited her out to the club that week, excited that she’d been more open to hanging out lately. At first, she hesitated—she had never been fond of the deafening music, the sweaty crowds, the sheer excess of it all.

But that wasn’t the real reason for her hesitation. Donovan’s friends practically lived in clubs, and their current favorite was The Star Fall. The thought of running into him again, especially in her own territory, unsettled her.

Still, she knew Donovan well enough to be sure he’d never willingly set foot in The Star Fall. It wasn’t his scene, not his style—and that was enough to put her mind at ease.

And, of course, there was another reason she needed to be there: The Dauntless Shadows required her attention. Their best assassin had made the mistake of disrespecting Koray during a meeting—a mistake that cost him his ability to hold a gun. That had been two weeks ago, right before Koray left on business. Now he was back, and the gang still needed someone to fill the gap.

Agatha adjusted her jacket, her decision made. It was time to get back to work.

While Orpheus and Phobos were skilled snipers, Agatha was the best of them all. She could calculate a bullet’s trajectory with perfect precision, landing her shot every time. Her beauty gave her an advantage—people rarely suspected someone like her to be the deadliest in the room. But despite her sharp mind and ruthless efficiency, she typically stayed behind the scenes. The Dauntless Shadows had specialists for everything, and her talents were usually better spent planning rather than pulling the trigger herself.

That, and her uncle rarely allowed her to step into the field. It was one of the few battles she just couldn’t win. While Koray trusted her judgment, their uncle had always been more protective. He accepted her leadership but constantly stepped in whenever he felt she was taking unnecessary risks. Most of the time, she let him. But this time was different.

This time, she had done her calculations. With Koray’s help, she had considered every angle—every potential risk, every loose end. Donovan had been a concern, but she hadn’t seen him in days. It was safe.

And she wasn’t about to let the opportunity pass. The outing to The Star Fall provided the perfect cover. It would be easy to slip away for a few minutes, handle her business, and return before anyone even noticed.