Serina nearly cried at the thought of this small parting, after wishing to see her sister for so long. “Some of the guards survived the uprising. We need to check on them. I’ll be back soon. I promise.”

Nomi looked up, and even though fear and exhaustion lurked in her eyes, she smiled and, for Serina, it was everything.

Buoyed, Serina headed for the main archway. Outside, Anika was directing women from the other crews to their new rooms. Serina noticed a girl standing in the shadows beneath the trees a few yards away, watching the influx with hands fisted at her sides. Something about her looked familiar, the halo of dark hair, the glare.…

Serina’s chest tightened. The girl who’d killed Petrel. Who’d raised her bloody fist in the air and shouted in triumph.

It was difficult, suddenly, to remember Serina’s own diplomatic words about the Commander forcing women to fight. Petrel’s killer had… well, she’d seemed to enjoy it.

“What’s that girl’s name?” Serina asked, tilting her head.

Val glanced in the direction she indicated. “Oh. I think she’s called Scorpion.”

Serina suppressed a shiver.

“She’s ruthless,” she said, remembering Petrel’s face as Scorpion’s hidden knife had sliced her throat. “We should put her on rotation to watch the guards.”

“That’s a good idea,” Val said.

As long as she’s not on watch with me, Serina added silently.

They hiked up the narrow path toward the prison, retracing their steps from the morning. The back of Val’s hand brushed hers as they walked. Each time it happened, her attention focused with precision to that one spot of contact, that brief pinpoint of connection. It was distracting.

“It’s incredible that your sister was on that boat,” he said, his voice full of wonder. “You must be so happy. Well, relieved. She’s here, she’s safe, and now we can all go to Azura together.”

Happy. Serina thought about that word.

“Yes, it’s a huge relief,” she said.

They reached the prison complex. She wrinkled her nose at the stale scent of the dank, airless hall. Val led her up a set of stairs to a heavy steel door. This door didn’t require a key, but the long row of barred doors inside did. She closed her hand around the cool weight of the keys again. Midway down the hall, two women sat on the floor facing each other.

Angry voices enveloped them.

One of the girls stood up. Gia, from Cave crew. Her normally golden-brown cheeks were flushed, her short hair standing up in sun-bleached whorls.

“Is it time to switch out?” she asked eagerly.

As Serina approached, the voices of the guards became clearer.

“I’m going to strangle you.”

“I’m going to make you beg.”

“You don’t even know what I’m going to do to you. Open this door. Let me show you.”