I trudged upstairs with Violet fast asleep in my arms. I wasn’t even sure how I was propelling myself forward at this point, but somehow I made it back to the living quarters.

Placing Violet in an empty bed, I tucked her in, smoothing her hair out of her face. She gave a little un-ladylike snore, shifted to one side under the blanket, and settled back down. I smiled down at her.

She looked so peaceful at that moment. The constant torment that she had endured was melting away. I took another moment to soak her in, and then made my way upstairs. There were a few more things I needed to do before sleep claimed me.

I secured the door leading from the decontamination room to the inner hall in a similar fashion to the one downstairs, and then went back to check on Ms. Dale. Color had returned to her skin, so I removed the patches from her. I checked her fingertips and toes to make sure blood was circulating well, and hooked up a second IV bag, so that when the first one drained, the second one would start working.

After that, I headed back downstairs. It was tempting to crawl into bed, but I wanted a shower first. I still somehow had energy to burn. I searched through the rooms, and eventually found one that contained clothes that would fit me.

I staggered into the bathroom, and turned on the shower. The pelting of the water on my back, rinsing me clean, was just what I needed. I could feel the sticky residue from the foam dissolve under the water pressure. Dirt and blood and grime fell from my body, forming a pool at my feet. I compressed the soap dispenser, and scrubbed my skin, determined to remove all of it.

It took washing myself twice to feel clean—I had to wash my hair three times, but finally, when I rinsed off, the water coming off me was clear.

I shut off the water, and grabbed a towel, wrapping it around my waist. The mirror had fogged up, but I used my hands to cut through the water droplets that had collected, wiping it clean.

The face staring back at me was that of a stranger’s, it seemed. The beard that had been growing in the last few days was rough and a little bit wild. The area under my eyes was dark. I looked almost sinister, like an evil villain from a play.

I ran a hand over my face and sighed. I needed to remain awake. The shower had refreshed me slightly, at least.

Toweling off, I shrugged on the black workout pants and white t-shirt I had found. Both were a bit snug, but I wasn’t worried about them tearing, and wandered back to the bedroom where Violet was sleeping.

I leaned against the doorframe, resting my head against it, watching her. She was fast asleep, lying on her side. One hand was curled next to her head, the other wrapped around her waist. The rest of the bed was empty, like an open invitation.

I eyed it, wondering how Violet would feel if she woke up next to me.

I decided to deal with it in the morning, and sat down on the bed next to her. I shoved a pillow behind my lower back, and sat with my upper back against the wall. If I stayed in this position, I would be unlikely to sleep.

Violet made a soft sound, and then turned toward me, placing her face on my thigh, using it as a pillow. I stroked her hair softly while she slept.

I wasn’t sure if it was the sound of Violet’s even breathing or my own state of exhaustion, but I suddenly came awake with a jerk. I wasn’t sure how long I had been asleep, but something had woken me in such a way that my body was on full alert.

I focused on my senses, trying to find what had jolted me from sleep, when I heard something upstairs. There was a banging sound echoing down.

Violet was still asleep, her exhaustion more profound than my own. I was loathe to wake her up, but if I didn’t, she would be mad at me later for excluding her.

I shook her awake gently.

She woke up, her eyes wild and confused. “Viggo?” she said groggily, her voice thick with sleep.

“Listen,” I said, placing a finger on her lips.

She froze for a second, tilting her head. There was a pause, and then the same banging sound, coming from upstairs.

“Ms. Dale?” she asked.

I shrugged. “It might be. Let’s just take our guns to be sure.”

She flashed me a look, one that told me she would never be caught dead without her gun, and stood up.

I did the same, tucking the gun into the band at the small of my back. Violet was staring at me, her eyes scanning me from top to bottom.

“You took a shower,” she said, her tone half-observant, half-accusatory.

“You passed out,” I replied with a smirk, pushing past her.

“Viggo?”

I paused, glancing at her from over my shoulder. She was looking back at the bed. She turned back to me, and gave me a nervous smile. “You… weren’t… sleeping with me, were you?”

I tossed back my head and laughed. She was too naive at times. “Of course I was, Vi. But for safety reasons.” I winked at her, and she gave a deep sigh, then followed behind me.

We headed upstairs quickly. I pushed open the door and heard something clanging from the room where we had left Ms. Dale. I moved up to the door, and glanced into the room quickly. Violet was beside me, her gun out.

“It’s Ms. Dale,” I whispered. “She woke up.”

Violet bit her lip, a thoughtful expression crossing her face. “Wait here,” she said, and stepped around me into the room.

“Ms. Dale?”

The banging stopped. “Violet,” came the older woman’s voice.

“Can you please lie back down? We worked really hard to help you, and I don’t want you undermining that while you’re still healing.”

There was a long pause. “We?”

That was my cue. I stepped into the room, behind Violet.

Ms. Dale’s brown eyes raked me over. “You’re the idiot who shot me,” she said after a moment.

I shrugged. “Guilty as charged.”

Scowling at me, she sat down on the bed. “Did you miss, or were you actually trying to wing me?”

“I don’t really like to kill women, so…” I trailed off, leaving her to her own implications.

She narrowed her eyes at me. “You’re Patrian,” she announced.

Violet cut in. “Ms. Dale, this is Viggo Croft. Viggo Croft, this is Melissa Dale. My former defense teacher.” Violet took a step closer to the older woman. “Except you’re not, are you?”

Ms. Dale stared at Violet, her face unflinching. “You’re wanted for your crimes, Violet,” she stated simply. “You had to know that Matrus would send agents after you.”

“Why you?”

Ms. Dale paused, staring at both of us. “First, answer my question, Violet—why are you with this Patrian?” The way she said Patrian, like a slur rather than a cultural identity, made me feel a flash of rage.

“My name is Viggo, Melissa,” I said.

She did something with her face, a slight tightening in her facial muscles, but I could feel her disdain for me. I almost wanted to laugh in her face.

Violet placed a sharp elbow in my side, not hard enough to hurt, but hard enough to serve as a warning. She wanted to handle this herself.

I sighed, and crossed my arms. Fine, she could handle it herself. I was just going to watch Ms. Dale like a hawk.

“Viggo helped me survive The Green,” Violet replied.

“Surely you are aware that—”

“He was sent from Patrus to arrest me for my crimes?” Violet interjected. “Yeah, who in this room hasn’t been sent to retrieve me?”

Ms. Dale and I shared a look. I waggled my fingers at her, she gave me a look of disgust.

Violet ignored us both. “Ms. Dale—I did not kill Queen Rina. Nor did I betray Matrus.”

“Forensic evidence found your handprint at the scene. You ran away. You killed Lee.”

Taking a deep breath, Violet reached into my bag and I watched her pull out the pieces of paper—Lee’s twisted confession and the two pictures. “Lee orchestrated everything,” Violet announced, handing the papers to Ms. Dale.

I watched as Ms. Dale looked at the pictures, her face reflecting nothing. Then, she opened the letter. I observed her closely, and I was glad I did. Her lips tightened slightly as she started to read. There was a flash of recognition in her eyes, quickly hidden.

I doubted Violet noticed—she seemed focused on the letter and Ms. Dale’s opinion of it. I wanted to warn her that it wouldn’t matter—Ms. Dale would still feel compelled to take her in—Matrus needed to catch someone for the crime. Then again, I knew Violet knew that already. She was nurturing a moment of false hope, and I didn’t have the heart to remind her that it was false.

The silence stretched out, punctuated only by the sound of paper rustling as Ms. Dale read. Then she handed it back to Violet, along with the pictures.

After taking a moment to collect herself, Ms. Dale started speaking, her voice soft. “Violet, we need to return to Matrus with this, and the egg. We can sort it out when we get back. I’ll help you.”

Violet hesitated, her eyes searching Ms. Dale’s, who offered her a small tight smile.

“You’re lying,” I announced. Ms. Dale glanced at me, and then turned her gaze to Violet.

“You know you can’t trust a Patrian,” she said. “They don’t care about women. You lived over there with them. You’ve seen how they treat us. Like we’re no better than dogs.”

“Hey, Matrians aren’t much better,” I shot back. She bristled, but I barreled on. “The tests that you run on all the boys, singling them out for aggressive tendencies? You convict them before they have a chance to commit a crime. They’re innocent, but you deem them guilty, brand them, and send them away.”

“It’s to ensure the continuity of our way of—”

“Save it,” I said, cutting her off. “Patrians may place women low in social standing, but at least they still have rights. You don’t even give those boys that. You just ship them off.”

Violet had been standing silent while we argued, but opened her mouth, cutting me off. “I am not going anywhere with either of you,” she stated, matter of fact. “Because no matter where I go, I’m dead. Strung up as a villain so that both of your little civilizations can continue to spin and play your petty games.”

Ms. Dale opened her mouth to protest, but Violet waved a hand, silencing her. She leaned over Ms. Dale, her face a mask of stone. “Ms. Dale, there is only one thing I want from you,” she said, her voice soft and deadly.

Ms. Dale, for her part, looked non-plussed. “You’re not in any position to demand—”

“You are restrained, wounded, in a facility where I have a gun and you do not. I am in the position to do whatever I want. And while I don’t want another death on my conscience, this is incredibly important to me.”

Ms. Dale searched Violet’s face for a long moment, and then nodded. “What do you want?”

“Where are the mines?”

Ms. Dale sighed. “I don’t know, Violet. To the north?”

Violet absorbed the information for a moment, and then nodded. “Thank you for nothing,” she said, before stalking out of the room. I felt torn in that moment. I wanted to question Ms. Dale further, but Violet was clearly upset.

“Do you have any idea what she’s been through?” I asked abruptly, the words exploding from my throat.

Ms. Dale didn’t bat an eyelid. “That story is just that—a story. I thought maybe… but after hearing all of this… it sounds insane.” She paused, giving me a piercing look. “And if you believe it… well, then you’re not thinking with your brain.”

My jaw clenched, and I whirled on my heel and left, closing and securing the door behind me. I started to follow after Violet, but I paused, Ms. Dale’s words rolling through my head, making me second guess myself.

I wanted to believe Violet so badly at this point. Everything she had done and said… it had been in earnest. Yet, I couldn’t get past the fact that she had planned to betray me. That she had spent weeks earning my trust, knowing that I would be indicted for her actions.

I needed to think.