“You’re braver than I am,” Faith whispered, picking at the wrapper on her candy bar. “If it wasn’t for Ava, I’d still be there, even though I hated it.”

I shook myself from my sudden dark mood. “How’d you get out?”

She hesitated a moment longer, then sighed, as if she was tired of holding back. “I knew Ava from way back,” Faith said, nibbling at the bar. “We were in a clutch that grew up together, until they separated us for Human Training. I didn’t see her face-to-face afterward, but somehow we always kept in touch. Even though it was frowned upon. Talon didn’t want us to have any previous attachments once we entered Human Training.”

My insides curled, remembering the long years of schooling out in the desert, and how it was just barely tolerable only because I had Dante. Growing up, he was my best friend; we had each other’s backs, and no matter how miserable things got, Dante was always there. I couldn’t imagine going through that by myself, how lonely it had to be. Maybe that’s why I didn’t fit into the organization. Maybe I’d formed too many “attachments,” when my only loyalty was supposed to be to Talon.

“Ava…had been planning to run for months,” Faith went on, unaware of my musings. “She’d heard rumors about Cobalt, that there was a dragon who would help those wanting to leave the organization. Her first real assignment was coming up, and she told me she was planning to go rogue then. I was too scared to tell her I wanted to leave, too.”

“Was that before you found out what Talon had planned for you?”

“Yes.” Faith nodded. “And when Ava found out, she offered to take me with her, even though that would make her escape even more dangerous. I almost backed out, but she convinced me to run. That it was better to be hunted and free than a slave the rest of my life.” She sniffed, curling into herself on the bed. “She was the brave one, the one who was trained for anything. I was only going to slow her down. And now she’s out there, being hunted by St. George and Talon, maybe dead, and it’s all my fault.”

“Hey.” I crumpled the empty M&M’s bag, making her startle and look at me. “Beating yourself up isn’t going to help her,” I said firmly. “She made the choice to go rogue. She had to know the dangers. Besides—” I shrugged, feigning a confidence I didn’t feel “—she’s with Riley, and he’s been doing this for a long time. If anyone can get away from St. George, it’ll be him. Don’t give up on them just yet.”

She cocked her head. “You think so?”