Great. I got back from Reformation late, and now the sun is barely up. “I can’t change if you’re watching me. Piss off.”

“Well, hurry up.” Cormac drops the sheet and leaves.

I press the heels of my hands into my face and give myself three seconds to rest before shoving myself out of bed.

This time, it’s me, Nick, Cormac, and Faith, which makes sense because Aisha has been a mess recently and Salvador skipped the last meeting, which is never a good sign. Plus, with the way Salvador was being stared at last time? I wouldn’t blame xem for not wanting to come.

I help Faith pull the cart, and I think she smiles, but it doesn’t get to her eyes.

“How’s Aisha holding up?” I ask her on the way, while we’re cutting across a street littered with potholes.

“The best she can,” Faith sighs. “Sadaf is with her now. I know she doesn’t need a babysitter, but I’m still worried about her.”

“She can hold her own,” Cormac cuts in. Nick’s eyes flick to him preemptively. “She’s a grown-up.”

“She’s eighteen. She’s younger than us both.”

“And yet we’re carting around the elementary schooler.”

I snort. “I’m sixteen.”

“Jesus! You’re sixteen?” Cormac looks to Faith and Nick in turn, like one might also see the obvious absurdity of having a slightly younger teenager in a militia made of teenagers. “No wonder you didn’t do shit at the church.”

“Easy,” Nick warns.

“Why are we even bringing him if all he does is stand there or hide?”

I bare my teeth under my mask. It would solve everything if I just lay it out for him—I’m the reason the Grace didn’t tear his head off at the church the moment they realized he was there. I’m the reason he’s not just as dead as those Angels. I am turning into a monster, and I am using this monster to help him survive.

Nick slams the flat of his arm into Cormac’s chest and pushes him back. “Aisha already did a number on you,” he says, “so I’m not going to repeat it. But do everyone a favor and shut up.”

“And you’re still defending him.” Cormac sneers in Nick’s face. “God.”

Nobody likes the way that sounds. We all get a little too quiet. Or maybe we’re just as quiet as we should be, walking through a city like this.