“Any sign of trouble? From anyone?” Sledge asked, emphasizing the final word.

Caledonia jumped in before Triple could respond, saying, “Gloriana could have taken me straight to Sister. Why go through all of this if not to help us?”

“Because she’s heard stories about you and wanted to encourage you to plan something elaborate so she could make a show of taking you down,” Sledge countered. “Like we’re doing at this precise moment.”

Caledonia understood his misgivings, but any room she gave at this point was too much. They needed to trust the plan or it would be too weak to support them.

“I know it’s a risk,” she said, looking from Triple to Sledge. “Everything we’ve done here is a risk. But you said it yourself. You have to unbecome them. You have to become something else, and you have to keep choosing what that is.”

Triple scowled at her own words being used against Sledge. “How is that relevant right now?”

“Because.” Caledonia released a slow breath. “The first time a Bullet told me they wanted out, I believed him, and a lot of people I loved died.”

“Lir,” Triple said, eyes widening in understanding. “That’s why you went after him.”

“It is.” She paused long enough to catch Sledge’s eye. “It’s taken me a long time to trust that anyone means it when they say the same thing.”

“But you do this time,” Triple stated, her unease less than it had been just a moment before.

“I have to.” The truth startled her. “The last two times I’ve heard a Bullet say they wanted out, they’ve told the truth. And somewhere out there is a Bullet I need to believe would say the same if given the opportunity.” Her throat squeezed at the thought of Donnally. Alive and forever out of her reach. “If we stop trusting the people who say they want out, then we’ll never believe anyone is worth saving.”

“Some people aren’t.” Sledge strode abruptly to the door, pushing it open. “I’ll be ready when you need me.”

“Sledge!” Triple called, surprised.

But Sledge was gone. The door closed behind him. When Triple turned to Caledonia her face was strained with concern, her hazel-green eyes deep with conflict. She held Caledonia’s gaze for a long minute, sharing so much with just that expression, and then she sighed.

“Sledge asked us to respect your wishes,” she began. “I think you should know that. This is hard for all of us, but when Sledge asks us to do something, we do it. You say the Steelhand is a part of your crew, we’ll respect that.”

“Oran,” Caledonia supplied softly, but the smile Triple returned was rueful.

Caledonia nodded, wishing she could make Triple and Sledge and the rest of the Blades understand that the Oran she knew was not the Steelhand they remembered.