Nodding, Nona gave a tired smile. “I do.”

Corday held up the crumpled flyer. “How could you allow it, Nona?”

“There is no stopping that girl now.” Nona gripped his arm, trying to get the boy to see what was right before him. “There is no stopping what’s coming.”

Corday cocked his head and had to agree. “You’re right. Claire unleashed a storm of trouble with this shit.”

“Corday—”

He didn’t want to argue with an old woman. Corday wanted to argue with Claire. “At least tell me she is here.”

“She is with the boy.”

Corday narrowed his eyes, teeth clenched. “What boy?”

“Her dead boy.”

“Oh…”

“She buried him in the compost pile out back.” When Corday shifted away, Nona gripped his arm again, stopping the Beta so she might speak her piece. “Claire only just returned. She is tired, don’t expect much.”

Not interested in wasting more time, Corday held his tongue, marching right through Omegas who were less than happy he’d called again. A reinforced door swung in, sunlight invaded, and there she was, head bowed over a freshly turned pile of dirt.

The angle of the building hid her from view, forcing Shepherd to shift from his perch and move like a shadow over the roof. And then there she was, still as a statue, less than thirty feet away, staring down at a small mound of snow-dusted earth. Captivated, Shepherd let out a breath, watching the Beta approach her.

It was as if she didn’t register Corday—not until the Enforcer shoved the flyer under her nose. “What is this?”

The Omega brushed the hair off her face, rubbing her skull as if it ached. “A picture of me naked.”

“Do you think this is funny?” Corday snapped, working hard to keep from raising his voice. “Do you realize what you’ve done, Claire? Everyone will know. There will be no safety in anonymity, EVER!”

She would not need anonymity, but she did need Corday to move. “You are standing on my boy.”

After a quick exhale, Corday stepped off the mound, pulling her to him. He hugged too hard, his voice breaking. “Your message… it is going to cost you any type of life. You will be hounded until the day you die.”

The Omega pushed away, sniffed, and wiped her tears with the heel of her hand. “I know what I did. I know you cannot understand, that our agendas don’t line up, but I cannot wait for the resistance to stop dragging its feet. There is no hero, Corday. There is no savior. Thólos has become hell, and I cannot even heap the blame for it at Shepherd’s feet. What has happened here, we did to ourselves. Either the citizens see what complacency in the face of evil has cost them, or they are all going to die.”