Cato groaned, his eyes opening. “You put me under again?” he asked, trying to sit up but stopped by the bonds.

“You tried to kill me,” Ariadne said, turning on the bright charm. “I was tempted to electrocute you like I promised, but I showed great restraint.”

“I appreciate that,” Cato said, shaking off his grogginess. It seemed to take him a little longer this time to come to awareness.

When he did, his gaze fell to the marks on her neck. Ariadne heard his short intake of breath.

“Your stress response activated the Oracle,” Ariadne explained. “I gave you a blocker and we removed your implant before we took off, but I figured we should talk before I start properly deprogramming.” She tapped her tablet. “I’ve got your entire neuroprogramming mapped out right here. It’s deep, but I think I can deactivate it.”

He shook his head, looking sick. “No. It’s my duty to house One, to move in tandem with my fellow soldiers.”

Nyx rolled her eyes. “You’re being used, you damn fool. We all were.”

“Nyx is right,” Eris said, her voice quiet. Cato’s head swiveled to her, noticing her for the first time. “The Oracle’s programming makes you believe that free will is a detriment.”

“I know my history,” Cato said. “Before the Oracle, the Archon was in constant danger of a coup, and any one of them would have shattered the Empire. The Oracle gives us all a collective purpose. I don’t want free will.”

Eris scoffed. “Oh, please. Yesterday in that interrogation room, you could have let the cold kill you before giving me those codes.” Her voice was low as she quoted the Oracle’s programming: “Death before dishonor. You had one small window of choice, and you didn’t choose the Empire.”

Cato had gone paler. Nyx, too, was stiff and unblinking. Months before, when Ariadne and Rhea had unpicked the last of her programming, there had been a close call. Nyx had almost been lost. Ariadne wondered if Nyx had fully forgiven the two of them for pulling her back from the brink.

“If you still want to be loyal to the Empire after Ariadne’s procedure,” Eris was saying, “that will be on you. But at least it’ll be your choice.”

Cato gazed at them all, helplessly. “Even if I wanted to, it’s not possible.”

Ariadne smiled. “Our escape on Zelus was impossible. We’re all well acquainted with impossible by now.”

A misstep. Anger flashed over Cato’s face. “Yeah. You escaped by killing my crew. I remember.”

Ariadne’s smile faded. “We didn’t want to.”

Nyx’s mouth twisted, as if to say, Speak for yourself. Mercifully, Cato didn’t see.

“Regret doesn’t bring them back.” His hands bunched to fists. Nyx’s hand moved back to her Mors.