“No. You as good as conned me again!” I shout back. “You put me in a cage, with no way out, and you expect me to be grateful for it. Well, I’m not. You don’t want to help me or my pack. You want to help yourself.” I jab him in the chest with a finger. “You only care about yourself.”

I turn away and drag my heel through the map, back and forth, obscuring the markings. It’s burned into my mind now. Having finally seen the map, I’ll never forget it. I move faster, wildly, until there’s nothing left but loose earth.

“Delta,” he says softly. “Delta, come on.” His hand closes over my forearm, and I yank it free.

“Don’t touch me, Asher.”

“You’re being ridiculous.”

“You’re being a coward.”

His face goes blank, his arm falls to his side, and he stands there staring at me in disbelief. He looks young suddenly, like a child. “So what are you gonna do, run? Alone?”

“Yes.” I push through the curtain and into the hall.

“You don’t even know how to sneak out of Powder Town,” he says, hurrying after me.

“No thanks to you.”

“The Prime might not let you back. If you go, it’s over. Delta, please don’t do this.”

I pick up my pace.

“Delta, stop.”

But I don’t.

I keep moving, and he lets me go.

I wait until they’re sleeping.

Cleo crashes almost immediately, but Asher takes longer. He didn’t say a word to me through dinner, and though he hasn’t looked my way once since we lay down on the bedrolls, I know he’s waiting. Waiting for me to get up. Waiting so he can stop me.

Finally, when my eyelids are heavy and near impossible to hold open, he drifts off. I can tell it by his breathing, how it lengthens, slows.

I ease soundlessly off the mat and pull on my jacket, gather my things. I swipe a bag from Cleo and fill it with food and water, plus a pitcher and cup that will allow me to set up an inverted well with my goggles as I did in Bedrock. I feel a touch guilty at taking her supplies, but I don’t dwell on it. This is Powder Town. She’ll be able to secure more. A theft here won’t break a person the way it might on the wastes.

I pause briefly in the doorway, glancing at Asher’s prone form.

It was a mistake to trust him. It’s always a mistake. Better to go it alone, count only on your own two hands.