G I G I

I walked with Neve and Arlo through the winding passageways and craning buildings we'd been in before we got captured. The others had already headed to their hideout, but Arlo and Neve had exchanged words a few moments ago. They hadn't deigned to let me into the conversation and had spoken in hushed tones, but I knew they were debating bringing me to their hideout.

And I was surprised when they gestured to me to keep walking.

"Krasowski didn't...do anything to you, did she?" Arlo asked seriously. I'd forgotten how his gray eyes seemed to be a bit too reckless, a little too hungry. I always wondered if he had the same preexisting hint of madness I did. After all, children weren't meant to be locked up for years at a time. We were both a testament to what happened when that rule was broken.

"No. I was knocked out for some time. I never knew what she wanted with me."

Neve and Arlo shared a knowing look. "She was going to experiment on you," Neve told me, the look in her eyes unreadable. "She was going to open you up and find out what exactly she did to all your genetic makeups as a child."

Rage heated my blood for the first time in a while. Not the same overpowering, boiling rage I used to feel. No, this was too calm and silent. And sure. "She'll die for that."

"I wouldn't talk about killing anyone in front of the others," Arlo advised. I didn't miss how he walked a few steps further from me than Neve did. "None of us have forgotten what you did."

I didn't blame them. I hadn't either.

"I have no interest in killing any of you." I watched him for a moment and was almost surprised when he wasn't unnerved in the slightest. "I'll admit, I expected you to want to slit my throat."

"Oh, I do." He regarded me with those strange eyes. "But I don't want to have anything to regret later."

Then I noticed how wrong he felt.

At first, I'd thought it was just the excitement of the rescue. But now that it was calm again, I knew something in Arlo wasn't right. I sensed inside him for a split second and was certainly not prepared for how unhealthy he really was. He'd always been a bit thin and pale, but I was surprised at the fact that he could even walk right now. He felt...corpse-like.

"Are you alright?" I asked, though it was clear he wasn't. Genuine concern shone through.

"As good as I'll ever be. That's all." If he was surprised I'd felt his sickness, he didn't show it. And by the curt edge to his tone, I knew he wanted to end the conversation.

For perhaps the first time ever, I couldn't tell what was wrong with his body. It was strange. But he helped save me from Krasowski's clutches. So I'd help him back, if it was just a try.

I funneled my power into him, unsure if my healing would even work. It was just a bit—enough to help him walk more steadily and be out of danger of collapsing. If he asked me to heal him completely, I would.

They stopped and I lingered behind them. Where was the hideout? We were at a crossroads in the alleyway, but there was no clear doorway in sight.

"Once you're inside..." Neve trailed off. "I don't know how they'll react."

"I'm not sure who's home," Arlo said, glancing upward. He meant Delphinium. "Just know that although you might not want to kill us, the feeling most likely isn't mutual."

"I would be surprised if it was." If they wanted to kill me... I figured I'd deal with the problem when it came. But I knew one thing: I wouldn't hurt them. The era of hurting the only people that truly cared about me was over.

They gestured me forward to climb up a platform and step through a secret door. Neve carried my bow and arrows, rendering me weaponless. But I knew they were all well aware of the damage I could do without my weapons.

We walked through a hallway and I was surprised at the size of the place. Neve and Arlo led the way, doing all they could to assure the others I wouldn't hurt them.

I found myself in an open place faced with the rest of my teammates—Delphinium missing from the group. They all stood, hands on their weapons. Well, all of them besides Riley. I saw the way she clutched at her side and sensed the hole in her skin. They'd done their best to heal it, but it was in danger of being infected.

Without thinking, I took a step past Arlo and Neve. The others pulled their weapons out, ready to slice me open. Giving them a watchful look, I turned to Riley. "It's painful, isn't it?" My voice sounded too soft in my ears.

She simply watched me, face impassive. I couldn't tell what she was thinking or what she'd do next. She'd always been mysterious in that way.

"I can heal you. If you let me."

"They told me about you," she said and though I didn't show it, I had no idea what she was talking about. "They told me you tried to hurt us."

"Riley lost some of her memory," Finn told me, softer than I'd heard him speak before. But he'd always been kind, gentle.

I looked back to the dark-haired girl who'd once been a friend. She didn't know me. And though it was melancholy, some dark part of me was glad she didn't remember firsthand what I'd done.

"I'm not going to hurt you. I'm done giving into the madness." Though I was looking at her, I spoke to all of them. "As much as I might want to, I can't take back what I did. But I can prove that I won't do it again." I outstretched a hand to her. "Let me show you."

I didn't miss how Kane was standing behind her, looking as stoic and strong as ever. His dark eyes locked onto me, gauging my every move and my level of threat. Though he didn't stand between her and me, I somehow knew he'd cut me down before anyone else if I made a single move for Riley.

"Okay," Riley said, challenge in her tone. She was willing to be the experiment for them all to see if I'd tear her open from the inside or not.

So I held my hand hovering over her own, sensing the depth of her wound and how it had affected her internal organs. It had healed somewhat acceptably inside, but the incision itself was in danger of being infected. She hadn't had access to the proper care.

As they all watched me with scrutiny, I first worked on the internal damage the bullet had done to her. They'd gotten it out, but it had certainly done its damage. The swelling reduced under my power until I could fix the torn tissue. I felt it begin sewing itself back together, the cells realigning and her skin strengthening. No one said anything. The wound began to seal up from the inside, the hole in her stomach shallowing and shallowing until it was nothing but a laceration.

Working this fast and expending this much power at once, I was pushing myself. Healing was harder than tearing apart. But I'd do it to prove to all of them that I wasn't the person they knew.

I stepped back on weak legs and said, "It's done."

Keeping a careful watch on me before her, Riley lifted the loose shirt they'd given her for easy access to her wound. And where it had been, there laid nothing but smooth tan skin. "Thank God you all saw it before," she drawled, "Or you wouldn't believe I was even shot in the first place."

"You complained enough for it to be burned into our minds forever," Jaxon said from across the room. He stood casually enough and there was humor in his tone, but I saw how he was tensed, ready for a fight. The backpack with his inventions lay open next to him on a table.

But my gaze didn't stay on him long. Not when I saw who stood in the doorway behind him.

Benton Shires.

My hands balled into fists, I snarled, "After everything you did, why are you here?" I could feel his heartbeat, his lungs inhaling...

"I could ask you the same thing," he said, infuriatingly calm. "I remember doing all the things I did with you at my side."

"I have my own regrets to deal with." I hated how he was undoubtedly reading my thoughts. "As bad as I am, I never murdered the loved ones of anyone here. But you murdered my mother." My temper was seconds away from snapping.

That made him grab my arm and pull me into the other room before I even knew what he was doing. The others simply watched on, not sure of whose side to take.

"Get off of me." I shoved him away as hard as I could and anger only rose when he only took a casual step back. I didn't want to think about why he'd taken me away from the others' watchful gazes.

"My madness is my own fault," I hissed, wanting him to feel the weight of my fury. "It always lived in me. I've made my choices—choices that I thought I made on my own. But you knew how to make the monster come out. You manipulated me and made me hate Delphinium to tear us apart." I couldn't seem to stop staying that now that I know its truth. "I don't hate her; I never should have. I should hate you instead."

"You don't know what it's like," he said in a low voice, his rage matching mine. "You don't know what it's like to be under Orion's power. You haven't had your body forcefully strapped into his machine and your mind swept of everything that makes you you. Once that happens, you have no choice but to do what he wants. And you like it. Yes, I murdered your mother," he spat. "And I enjoyed doing it."

There were no words to convey what I felt in that moment, hearing him say that. "You're as much of a monster as me." And what did he mean, he was strapped into a machine that swept his mind? If he was being controlled by Orion that night...

"Yes. Perhaps worse." He calmed. "But Orion doesn't control my mind anymore. And I hardly get any enjoyment out of the fact that I put a bullet into your mother's head."

"There's no reason I should believe anything you say." My voice was so devoid of emotion it would have scared me in any other situation. "You manipulated all of us with your lies and treachery. I know what you're capable of."

"You want to be different, I've seen that in your mind. But has it ever occurred to you that I might want something similar for myself?"

I laughed, but it was not joyful or humorous in the slightest. "What reason should I should believe that is true? You can read my thoughts, but none of us can read yours."

"Do you know why I look like this?" With a lazy hand, he gestured to the deep scars down the side of his face, like someone had clawed the skin apart. "Delphinium dropped a building on me. She destroyed the fortress and let me burn. But I didn't blame her, so I haven't told anyone what ruined my face. I'm done holding grudges against anyone but Imperium."

Those dark eyes bored into me. "I've begun working with your crew not only because I want to see Imperium fall, but to make up for everything I did to them—to you. I might be a murderer, a liar, a terrorist, but some part of me wants my brother to stop looking at me like he's not sure who I'll ruin next. Sometimes I want to be more than just a liability for him."

I stepped away from him, my anger beginning to wane. I wasn't sure what scared me more: the fact that I felt inclined to believe him or the possibility that he could be lying to my face.

"If that's true," I drew out, "May we both find what we're looking for."