Chapter 8
I wake the next morning from a fitful sleep to find a message from Gray on my new comm, telling me to meet him in the mess hall for our tour of the Dagger.
After a quick shower, I get dressed, brush my hair into a low ponytail, and head out the door.
I leave my room at the same time another door down the hall buzzes open.
Bare feet peek out, followed by tanned legs, then finally, the owner of those legs. She’s a pretty brunette with rumpled hair, wearing a short dress and holding her shoes in her hands. She sprints away like she really doesn’t want to be seen.
The door is about to close when a pair of green eyes catches mine.
It’s that Saint guy, a smirk lifting his lips when he spots me. He ducks back into his quarters, and I hide my amusement as I pass his door.
It’s my first time trying to navigate the Dagger without a guide, so I’m pleased with myself when I manage to make it all the way to the mess hall without having to check my comm. As I round the corner, the sound of raised voices stops me in my tracks.
Outside the mess hall, Gray and Karra are engaged in a heated argument.
I quickly back away, keeping out of Karra’s eyeline.
If Gray sees me, he doesn’t let on. His jaw tightens at whatever she says, and his irritated response makes Karra cross her arms over her chest. Her voice rises, and when I catch a glimpse of her profile, I see that her cheeks are flushed with anger.
Finally, she tosses her black hair over her shoulder and stomps off in the other direction.
I wait a few seconds before stepping forward, pasting on a casual smile as I approach. “Sorry I’m late.”
“You weren’t late. You were lurking at the end of the hall pretending not to see Karra chewing me out.”
I can’t stop a laugh. “I didn’t want to interrupt.”
“Good call. She probably would’ve ripped your head off.”
“Hey,” I protest, “what did I do to her?”
“Technically, nothing.” He drags his hand through his blond hair, letting out a long sigh. “But there might be some…fallout from last night.”
“Why? What happened last night?”
“She found out about us fooling around in Silver Block.”
I falter. Shit. And I was really hoping to make some friends here.
“How did she find out?” I ask suspiciously.
“Well,” he says, pushing open the doors, “she asked me if you and I ever fooled around, and I said yes.”
My jaw drops. “Why would you do that?”
“Why would I lie?” He shrugs. “Look, KC’s hotheaded, but don’t worry about her. She’ll breathe fire and brimstone for a couple days, then reach the very sensible conclusion that she does not, in fact, own my dick. Especially when I’m single.”
In the mess hall, we’re mostly greeted by friendly faces, but I feel a strange shift from a few people who were quick to smile at me yesterday. One of the pilots Gray introduced me to, Lexi, won’t meet my eyes, and her friend whose name I can’t remember observes me with overt hostility.
When we pass the two women at the coffee station, their veins immediately start to ripple as their gazes flick in my direction.
“So,” Gray says lightly, “I should probably warn you about something else.”
I can’t contain my sarcasm. “Does it have to do with the reason your pilot friend is looking at me like I poisoned her eggs?”
He seems reluctant to answer. “Word’s gotten out that you can incite.”
“What? How?”
We find two seats in the back of the room, a quiet spot with nobody beside us. I spear my fork into my scrambled eggs with a little more force than necessary.
“My guess?” he says. “Fiona.”
“You promised disclosure was confidential.” My stomach starts churning. “Why would she do that?”
Regret lines his face. “Fi served with President Severn before the Coup. She’s not a fan of that particular ability.”
No, I suppose she wouldn’t be. It’s no secret that the former leader of the Continent used his abilities freely. Severn had no compunctions about inciting anyone who crossed his path, even his Modified allies.
“So now she’s warning people to stay away from me? To be afraid of me?” My eyelids sting, but I refuse to cry. I curl my fingers over the edge of the table to distract myself, my knuckles slowly turning white from the tight grip. “I would never incite anyone here.”
“I know that, and I promise you, most people won’t care that you’re an inciter.
Best case, they’ll be impressed. Worst case, they’ll pester you about using your powers against the enemy.
” His tone becomes gentle. “I get you wanted to keep it a secret, but you want to know my take? It’s better if they know.
A lot of people at the Dagger choose to disclose their abilities, especially field operatives. ”
“Really?”
He nods. “It fosters an environment of trust. You don’t want to be working with someone who’s hiding something from you, right?”
Maybe he’s right. But I feel so exposed now.
I’ve spent my entire life hiding the fact that I can incite, and now all these strangers know about me, and it triggers a helpless feeling.
I blink rapidly, trying not to cry. I don’t know what’s happening to me, where this deluge of emotion is coming from, but I don’t like it.
I wish Cross were here right now to hold me in his arms and shield me from everyone’s eyes.
And I wish Wolf’s voice was in my head, reminding me that I’m Wren fucking Darlington and the strongest person he knows.
“Wren. Hey.” Gray reaches across the table and touches my hand, gently prying my fingers off the edge of the table, forcing me to relax my grip.
It’s a soothing gesture, and my agitation slowly begins to dissolve.
“Listen, the ones who might be wary of you…just give them time,” he advises. “They’ll warm up.”
“This is worse than Kess and Anson,” I say, referring to the Silver Block recruits who got off on bullying everyone around them.
“Trust me, it’s not worse. Those two were stone-cold psychopaths.”
I notice another telepathic conversation happening at the far end of our table and clench my teeth. “Maybe they’re not psychopaths, but they’re fucking rude. They’re talking about me behind my back in front of my face.”
“Or…” He pauses enticingly. “…they’re talking about something totally unrelated to you.”
“Why don’t you read their minds and tell me?” I challenge. He still hasn’t revealed his abilities, and there’s nothing more unbearable to me than unsated curiosity.
“Not a mind reader,” he answers with a wink.
“Then what can you do?” I whine when he doesn’t elaborate.
“Wouldn’t you like to know.”
“Yes! I would!”
“Pity.”
“What happened to fostering trust?”
“I already have your trust.”
“If I guess correctly, will you tell me?”
“Sure. But you haven’t guessed correctly.”
“I hate you.”
Unfazed by my tantrum, Gray pops the last piece of bacon into his mouth, then pushes his chair back. “I’m getting another coffee. Finish up and then let’s take that tour.”
We start at the top of the Dagger and work our way down.
I’m already familiar with most of the third floor, but he gives me a quick tour of the food production facilities, which I haven’t seen yet.
The kitchen is enormous, though I suppose it must be to feed everyone on this base.
Gray reveals there are nearly a thousand people currently living at the Dagger.
As we’re passing the common rooms, he points out another corridor. “If you follow this hallway all the way to the end, you’ll find the exit to the Ledge. People go out there to smoke or relax or whatever. Great view of the mountain. I’d take you there now, but it’s raining out.”
“Can’t get your beautiful hair wet?” I mock.
“Of course not,” he says solemnly. “It takes a lot of work to look this perfect.”
“Uh-huh. I’m sure.”
Next up is the second floor. Research and Intelligence. We peek into the medical bay but don’t go inside, which is fine by me because I’m told this is where Fiona spends most of her time. Turns out that along with being a snitch, she’s also the Dagger’s resident healer.
Gray shows me the digital library, which requires a thumbprint to enter. He explains there are different levels of clearance depending on the text or document you’re trying to access, and not every workstation is accessible to everyone.
“The laboratories are in this wing,” he says as we enter yet another endless corridor. “But we also have an off-site testing lab on the north side of the mountain.”
“What are you testing? More of your sugar bombs?” I tease.
When we were in Silver Elite, Cross gave an entire briefing about an incendiary device that the Uprising was using.
The Command called it a sugar bomb because the Company scientists who developed it had figured out a way to extract and refine natural sugars into a compound creating an explosion comparable to the atomic bombs of yore.
“Among other things,” Gray says.
“You know, my good friend Kaine Sutler died in a sugar bomb attack.”
“Damn. You must have been devastated.”
“Heartbroken,” I confirm gravely. “I cried myself to sleep for months.”
Chuckling, he leads me to a security door at the end of the hall. “This is Intelligence,” he says.
The door slides open, and I find myself looking at a large chamber filled with workstations and holoscreens on every surface.
There are people seated at various desks, swiping through the air or typing on their tablets.
I also spot a surprising number of notebooks and other paper products.
The decades-long lumber shortages on the Continent make paper a rare commodity.
When I try to step inside, Gray tugs me back. “You can’t go in. You don’t have the clearance. Come on, let’s get to the fun stuff.”
We ride the elevator to the Operations floor, which is a hub of activity.
“Control center is through there.” He gestures beyond the elevator bank. “It’s where we monitor satellites, comms, signals, drone control…basically everything that keeps us ahead of the Company.”