There aren’t any.
Not for me.
They throw me back into the holding chamber an hour later. My shoulders burn from the strain. My ribs ache with every breath. The silence presses in thick and heavy.
I lean my head back against the steel.
Idiot.
The word echoes.
I replay the charge in my mind. The way I stormed the perimeter. The way I ignored cover. The way I followed Kaella straight into the tunnel without confirming heat signatures.
I wanted to burn.
Wanted to make enough noise that Marj would have to respond personally.
Instead, I handed her a stage.
I handed her spectacle.
And she’s better at spectacle than I’ll ever be.
Boots approach again. Slower this time. Measured.
The door slides open and she enters alone.
Large Marj doesn’t hurry. Doesn’t need to.
She stops a few feet away, examining me like a trophy already mounted.
“You know what I like about you?” she asks conversationally.
“I don’t much care.”
She smiles faintly. “You’re honest about your flaws. That’s rare.”
She crouches. Close enough that I can smell her perfume under the iron tang of the cell. Something sweet rotting at the edges.
“You thought dyin’ here would protect her.”
I don’t respond.
“You thought if you burned bright enough, I’d focus on you and forget about the little legend.”
My jaw tightens.
She leans closer.
“Here’s the thing. I don’t forget. I collect.”
She stands again.
“We’re gonna hold you for two days. Long enough for word to spread. Long enough for fear to fester.”
My pulse shifts.
Two days.
