I grow stronger by making my wife happy.

Chapter 292: 292:Shawn.

Ravenna barely touched her food that evening. She sat inside their car with the door open, staring at the small meal Antony had prepared while the sounds of the temporary camp carried through the darkness around them.

Contractors were talking among themselves, equipment was being checked, and somewhere farther away, one of the guards called out a warning before another person answered. It was an ordinary night for people who were accustomed to travelling through dangerous territory.

For Ravenna, however, nothing about it felt ordinary anymore. Her mind kept returning to the same place, to the collapsed cave buried somewhere behind them, to the enormous network of tunnels beneath Death Row Valley, and to the person she had been forced to leave behind.

She picked up a piece of food and stared at it. She didn’t feel hungry.

Antony, sitting across from her, noticed.

"You should eat."

"I know."

"Knowing isn’t the same as doing."

Ravenna slowly put the food into her mouth.

"There."

Antony nodded.

"See? You’re capable of listening."

She gave him a tired look.

"Don’t push your luck."

He smiled faintly before continuing to eat. For several minutes, neither of them spoke, then Ravenna suddenly remembered something.

"Shawn, why did I not think of that!"

Antony looked up.

"Who is he?"

Ravenna’s expression changed. There was something different in her eyes now a small spark of determination.

"Silver’s cousin."

Antony nodded.

"Oh, he has a cousin."

"Yeah, he’s older than Silver."

"How much older?"

"I’m not sure, I’ve never seen him but Silver always mentions him occasionally."

Antony shrugged.

"That isn’t important. What’s he got to do with everything."

Ravenna shook her head.

"No. His strength is important. " she placed her food aside. "Shawn is extremely talented."

"How talented?"

"Enough that Silver respects him."

Antony raised an eyebrow.

"That sounds like a high standard."

"It is." Ravenna leaned back against the seat. "Silver doesn’t easily praise people."

Antony laughed softly.

"That’s true."

"He respects Shawn’s strength. He also trusts his judgment... half of the time."

She looked down at the tracker.

"If anyone can help us, it might be him."

Antony became thoughtful.

"You want to contact him?"

"I need to." There was determination in her voice. "But there’s a problem."

Antony waited.

Ravenna sighed.

"Silver hasn’t contacted him."

"Why?"

She hesitated, then she remembered the conversations they had shared.

"He didn’t want to."

"Why?"

Ravenna nodded.

"Half the reason is because he was tasked by him of take care of this bitch, no Cruella, but Silver doesn’t get along with that girl and she tried to kill me. Now that I think about it, I’m going to break her neck the moment I see."

"Let’s get back to the topic." Antony frowned. "I thought you said Shawn was his cousin can’t he just explain."

"Easy for you to say, you haven’t met her yet." She clicked and shook her head," Shawn would ask questions the moment he calls."

Ravenna looked away.

"About Cruella. About what happened to her. About where she is."

Antony’s expression changed.

"Ah."

"Silver didn’t want to explain."

"And now?"

Ravenna looked toward Death Row Valley.

"Now I don’t care." Her voice was firm. "If Shawn can help me find him, I’ll tell him everything."

Antony nodded slowly.

"That’s probably your best option."

Ravenna looked at him.

"You don’t think he’ll refuse?"

"I don’t know."

"But Silver respects him, that should hold some weight, right?"

"Then that should count for something."

Ravenna nodded. She wanted to believe it, no, she needed to believe it. For a while, the two of them simply sat there.

The camp around them slowly became quieter.

The stronger Contractors had established a perimeter, and several guards remained awake while the others rested. The convoy would continue in the morning, but for tonight, there was nothing Ravenna could do.

She hated that. She had always considered herself capable: she could fight, protect herself, hunt beasts, and survive in dangerous zones.

But none of that mattered when the person she wanted to protect was hundreds of meters beneath the ground and potentially trapped with a Rank Six beast.

Her strength suddenly felt meaningless.

"What if he can’t get out?"

The question came quietly. Antony looked at her.

"Then we’ll find someone who can get him out."

"What if the queen moves?"

"We find it."

"What if the cave collapses further?"

"We clear it."

"What if he’s already..."

"Don’t."

Antony interrupted her. Ravenna stared at him. He looked unusually serious.

"Don’t finish that sentence."

She swallowed.

"You’re right."

Antony leaned back.

"You need to think about what you can do now."

Ravenna nodded.

"I can find Shawn."

"Exactly."

"I can reach the academy."

"Eventually."

"And once I’m there..."

"You’ll have more resources."

Ravenna looked toward the distant horizon.

"Then that’s what I’ll do."

The convoy resumed its journey the next morning. The sun had barely risen when the engines started.

Ravenna sat in the passenger seat while Antony drove, watching the military vehicles ahead of them. The journey was relatively uneventful compared with what they had experienced in Death Row Valley.

The subjugation team was simply too powerful for ordinary beasts to pose much of a threat. Several creatures appeared in the distance, but they quickly disappeared when they sensed the presence of the convoy.

The few that were foolish enough to approach never reached Ravenna’s vehicle.

A Rank Four beast attempted to charge from the grass. One of the Contractors killed it before it came within a hundred meters.

Another creature approached from the side several hours later. It lasted perhaps five seconds.

Ravenna watched silently.

She had become accustomed to it. The strength of the subjugation team was almost absurd. They didn’t fight like ordinary Contractors.

Ravenna found herself wondering how Silver would react if he could see them. He would probably observe them quietly, analyze every ability, and might even try to figure out how they coordinated so well.

The thought brought a faint smile to her face, then it disappeared. She looked down at the tracker.

Antony noticed.

"You were smiling, keep doing that."

"No, I wasn’t."

"You were."

"You imagined it."

"I have functioning eyes."

Ravenna sighed.

"You talk too much."

"That’s what everyone says."

The landscape gradually changed as they moved farther from Death Row Valley and they fully entered the Yellow zones. The terrain became more open, the air felt cleaner, and the pressure that had seemed to hang over the valley disappeared.

By midday, the last distant ridges of Death Row Valley were behind them.

Ravenna turned around in her seat. She stared behind her at the fading mountains.

Her hand tightened around the tracker.

"Wait for me."

Antony glanced at her which she didn’t notice.

The convoy continued.

Ravenna spent the next few hours thinking about Shawn. She had never met him properly and only knew of him through Silver.

He had mentioned his cousin occasionally, usually when discussing powerful Contractors or combat techniques. Silver had always spoken about Shawn with a level of respect Ravenna rarely heard from him when talking about other people.

That was what made her hopeful. If Shawn cared about Silver even half as much as Silver respected him, he might help.

She looked toward Antony.

"Do you think he’ll come?"

Antony shrugged.

"I don’t know."

"I wish you would stop saying that."

"I don’t like lying."

Ravenna sighed.

"Fair."

Antony smiled.

"But if Silver is alive, we’ll find him."

Ravenna looked ahead.

"He’s alive."

Antony nodded.

"Then he’s alive."

The words weren’t a promise.

But Ravenna accepted them anyway. By evening, the convoy had travelled far enough that even the most dangerous sections were now completely behind them.

Ravenna felt the tension in her shoulders ease slightly. They had escaped and they were safe, but she couldn’t celebrate

Silver was still missing.

That night, while the convoy rested, Ravenna sat outside their vehicle and stared at the stars. Antony joined her.

For a while, they said nothing, then Ravenna spoke almost to herself as though she was trying to hype herself up for the inevitable.

"I’m really going to find Shawn."

"Good."

"I’m going to tell him everything."

"Good."

"And if he refuses..."

Antony looked at her.

"What then?"

Ravenna’s eyes hardened.

"I’ll find another way."

Antony smiled.

"That’s more like you."

Ravenna looked toward the dark horizon.

"I promised Silver."

"What did you promise?"

"That I’d come back."

Antony nodded.

"Then keep the promise."

Ravenna closed her eyes. She could still hear Silver’s voice.

Don’t worry.

Her eyes opened again.

"You better keep yours too," She whispered it toward the distant valley.

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