Roland was quiet through all this. He kept drinking, but his pace had slowed. His face took on a dark cast and he slumped down into his chair. He seemed to collapse in on himself a little.

“Look, chica,” Tule said. There was a slight drunken slur to her words now. “I know I gave you a hard time, and it was dumb-as-fuck a’you to move to this ‘Kingdom.’ But I give you credit for breaking free, and for helping us escape. You might be a little dumb. But you aren’t bad people in my book. Don’t beat yourself up over doing what you had to do.”

There was quiet for a little while. Manny passed the bottle to Sasha. She took another gulp and managed to hold it down this time. Tule nodded in approval when Sasha passed the whiskey on. Sasha found her eyes drawn, once more, to Darryl’s gun. It was tucked into Tule’s waistband.

Roland cleared his throat and gave a loud, phlegmy cough. Sasha looked back at him.

“You didn’t ask me for an opinion,” he said, “but since everyone else is weighin’ in I might as well: There ain’t nothing wrong with feeling bad about murder. Even justified murder. But personally, I don’t think that’s what’s fucking you up.”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

He drained the last of the whiskey bottle and tossed it off into the darkness. It landed with a clank.

“I got real good senses, y’know. I can’t turn ’em off. So I heard your heart rate. I smelled the neurotransmitters running through your synapses. I can taste the guilt wafting off you. But that’s not the only thing I taste.”

He locked his unsteady eyes on hers. Sasha stared into the cold blue of his pupils. A chill ran down her spine. Sweat beaded on the back of her neck. When he spoke next, his voice was barely above a whisper.

“Back at the jail, when you crushed that guy’s skull with a helmet. You enjoyed yourself. You liked it.”

Sasha broke his gaze. She stared down at her lap and struggled to find a reply. But there was nothing for her to say. Roland was right.

Chapter 22

Manny.

Rolling Fuck was as bright, shiny, and chaotic as it had been when he’d left. But Manny could see a real change among the citizens themselves. Gone were the lounging crowds of half-naked people. Instead of the perpetual party, a war camp spread out around the great superstructure of the city.