“You saw them, the day we left, they had a silent conversation,” I say, waving to my head. “Their weird twin thing. I had to separate them in the car to make it stop.”
“I think they might have done that to annoy you,” Knox says, cracking a smile.
“Haven has been tolerable,” I press.
That earns me a laugh.
“That’syour evidence?”
Haven Warrick is sharp-edged and reckless, full of a willful spark that borders on self-destruction. I remember the way she met my gaze that day; she was unafraid, almost as if she were daring me to try to control her. If Warrick, the High General, himself couldn’t tame that spirit, I am not arrogant enough to believe I managed it in a handful of days.
“And Mercy?” I prompt.
“She’s settling in as expected. Made a friend already. A few enemies, too.” He hesitates. “There was an incident yesterday. A few Gifted were poking some fun at her.”
“And?”
“She handled it, fought her way out, and her friend called a sergeant before it got ugly,” he says slowly.
“Hmm,” I murmur.
Knox leans forward, elbows on his knees, lowering his voice.
“You have that look on your face.”
“What look?”
“That look that means someone’s already dead and they just don’t know it yet.”
I stand, pacing across the room. The implant at my neck hums faintly beneath my skin, responding to my agitation. Sometimes I forget it is even there, and other times I can’t ignore it if I tried.
“It’s glaringly obvious,” I say at last, stopping by the window, staring out at the watchtowers of the Forge. “They switched places.”
Silence crashes down around us like the empty static between radio stations.
Knox sucks in a sharp breath. “That’s a serious accusation.”
“It’s not an accusation,” I say. “It’s a fact.”
“They could get into serious trouble for this,” Knox says, alarmed. “Identity theft, impersonation of a conscript, falsifying intake records, subverting a sanctioned union.”
I turn back to him, my expression cold. That would get them a few decades in prison, if not executed.
“They underestimated me,” I say. “Both of them.”
“What are you going to do?” Knox asks warily.
A slow smile curves my mouth.
“I’m going to let them think they’ve won,” I say. “And then I’m going to see how far they’re willing to fall to keep the lie in place.”
Because if they did switch, I would ruin both their lives.
“I think it’s time I payMercya visit.”
The training ground falls silent the moment I step onto the dry, cracked grass. The Commons freeze mid-motion, the chatter dying on their lips.
“Line up,” I bark.
