“Come on, girl,” Tyler said. Concern wrinkled his brow as he squatted down next to me, bringing him down to eye level with me. “You gotta do something about those feet. You’re talking about your ability to walk.”

My lips tasted bloody as I licked them, trying to find some reason to explain why I didn’t want nanos without giving away what I was, but nothing logical or reasonable came to me.

Stall. It’s all I could think to do. “We don’t even know how bad it is. Maybe they’re just a little burned.”

“Okay. We’ll start with that.” Audrey started opening drawers. “I’m sorry I didn’t get to say hello this morning. I was out before you were up.”

“Oh. Uh.” Of course. She must live in the same bunks as I did. “Yeah. No worries. I was wiped after the travel.”

“Really?” She looked back at me, and her gaze narrowed as she took a closer look at my face. “Most people have the opposite effect.”

Shit. I was going to give myself away. I took a breath and held it for eight. “It’d been a crazy few days before I went into cryo sleep. Maybe it was the stress?”

She tilted her head as she watched me, considering my answer. Her gaze slid all over my face, taking in every feature. She looked down to my feet, taking in my build and height. “Maybe.” The way she said it made me think she didn’t believe that answer for a second.

My face looked Aunare. My thin frame was typical Aunare, but at five feet, seven inches, I was a little short to be mistaken for full-blood Aunare. That had saved me so many times, but it wasn’t enough this time. Not after I’d refused nanos and brought up my wonky experience with cryo sleep?

This was amateur hour.

The monitors beeped as my heart rate quickened, and I needed to calm it down.

Four out. Six in. Six out.

Audrey glanced at the screen and then back to me. She held my gaze for a second, trying to tell me something but I didn’t know what, and then went back to gathering her tools. “I’m Audrey, as Tyler said. Been here for six months so far, but it’s not so bad. The girls here look out for each other.”

I wasn’t sure that was accurate. “The woman in the mess hall didn’t seem too keen on me.”

Audrey snorted. “That’s Della. She doesn’t like anyone or doesn’t seem to, but then she’ll horde treats for us, so—”

“What?” Tyler cut in. “Like, what kind of treats?”

“Shut it, Ty. You get plenty.”

Tyler grumbled a bit, but quietly.

“Anyway, we’ll get you all healed up, and then you’ll meet the rest of us tonight.”