“I can’t believe we’re inside a mountain.”
“Pretty fucking cool, huh?”
A pair of automatic doors slide open at our approach, and we head down another long corridor toward an elevator bank.
“How many levels is this place?”
“Three. This is the Operations floor, which houses our command center, training facilities, armory, comms. Second floor is R and I—Research and Intelligence,” he clarifies at my blank face. “It’s where you’ll find the medical bay, labs, that kind of stuff. And the top floor is Personnel.”
We ride the elevator to the third floor, where Grayson points out various facilities during our brisk walk. Common areas, mess hall, kitchen. We pass only a handful of people on our mazelike journey. They’re all in civilian clothes, and while they vary in skin and hair colors, they convey the same curiosity when they spot me.
“They know I’m a Mod, right?” I murmur when one of those civilians side-eyes me.
Grayson nods. “Only Mods are allowed in the Dagger. Which is another reason why Ford won’t be welcome. I really wish you ran it past Adrienne before you dragged his ass here.”
“Well, it’s too late now. He’s already here.” I glance over at him. “Why is it called the Dagger?”
“Because this mountain is full of daggerstone. When the founders of the Uprising stumbled on this place after General Redden’s Coup, they took a very literal naming approach.” His eyes dance with amusement.
His mention of the Coup is a depressing reminder that the Uprising has been in operation for twenty-five years now. Twenty-five years of fighting against a regime that wants us either dead or living as second-class citizens. General Redden’s Silver Jubilee was only days ago, the celebration marking a quarter century of his reign, and I was right there in the ballroom when that reign ended in crushing defeat as Adrienne corrupted the man’s brain. I stood there in pure disbelief while she reduced the General to a vegetative state in front of our very eyes.
Atthatreminder, I force Grayson to stop walking, curling my hand around his arm. “Did you know what Adrienne was going to do to General Redden at the Jubilee?”
“Yes.” His response is swift. Unapologetic.
“And you just let her do that? Shefriedhis brain.”
“Can’t say I’m too shaken up about it. The man has killed tens of thousands of Mods. He was the enemy, and we’re fighting a war.”
I know he’s right, but…Shouldn’t there be rules to warfare? Honor in war?
Honor?an inner voice mocks.You incited a woman to shoot herself in the head.
The memory triggers a rush of nausea. My hands shake a little, so I press them to my sides as I trail Grayson down the hall.
Even days after the fact, I can’t erase the horror of what I did.
I stole someone’s free will. It’s a sickening notion, making me feel like one of those vengeful gods we read about in school. The ones who toyed with the mortals they created. Tricked them, seduced them, tormented them whenever it struck their fancy. But most of those mortals were innocent, I have to remind myself. Jayde Valence, the woman I killed, was far from innocent. She was the General’s right-hand woman, and she helped him kill and enslave her own people. The world is a better place without her in it.
But isn’t it better off without the General, too? Maybe destroying an enemy of that magnitude justifies what Adrienne did.
WhatIdid.
Or at least that’s what I keep telling myself.
Finally, we reach the base’s living quarters. Grayson stops at a door at the end of the hall and presents his thumb to a scanner. The lock releases, and we enter what seems to be a small apartment.
His, I suspect, because the scent of him, crisp citrus and pine, lingers in the air. There’s a flight jacket draped over a tall stool at the kitchen counter. The living area contains a sofa, two armchairs, and a table laden with several tablets and a half-finished cup of coffee. A wide doorway across the main space leads to what I assume are a bedroom and lavatory.
“These are your quarters?”
He nods.
“Why am I in your quarters, Kaine?”
“Grayson,” he corrects. “But you can call me Gray. Most people do.”
“Why am I in your quarters, asshole?”
