“You killed someone,” Sam said. “For your experiment.”

Magdalena sighed. “You know, I haven’t brought this up before because I thought maybe we could be friends. But your people killed a whole lot of mine not that long ago. You might have killed a couple yourself, am I right?”

Sam shook his head. “You invaded our planet,” he said. “It was war.”

“This is why I hate discussing politics,” Magdalena replied. “Nobody ever wants to consider the other side. They say they do, but they really don’t.”

“You’re crazy,” Sam said.

“Or maybe I’m a genius,” Magdalena said. “See, there you go again, only seeing things your way.”

Before Sam could say anything else, the door opened again and Eleni stormed in, looking even angrier than she had when she’d left. “She’s gone,” she said.

“Who’s gone?” Magdalena said.

Eleni didn’t answer, but Sam knew exactly who she meant. Six had escaped. Magdalena too must have realized what Eleni was saying. “Well, she must be here somewhere.”

“Of course she’s here somewhere!” Eleni thundered. “And she’s probably contacted help.”

Magdalena looked at her watch. “The show starts in half an hour,” she said. “And she has no idea what we’re planning.”

“That’s more than enough time to cause trouble,” said Eleni.

“You worry too much,” Magdalena told her. “Like you said, she’s weakened. Her Legacies are all but gone.”

“And yet she still managed to escape,” said Eleni.

Sam laughed despite himself. Eleni walked over and slapped him hard across the face. Sam laughed again, knowing it would anger her. It did. Once more her hand crashed into his cheek with the force of a freight train. His head rocked to the side, and he tasted blood. He looked up at Eleni. Her face was a maelstrom of emotions, none of them pleasant.

“She’ll find you,” Sam said in a clear voice. “She’ll find you, and she’ll kill you.”

Eleni went to strike him again, but Magdalena caught her arm. “I have something for you,” she said. She held up a vial.

“What is it?” Eleni asked.

“Serum,” said Magdalena. “A new batch.”

The hint of a smile appeared on Eleni’s face. “And it’s ready?”

Magdalena nodded.

“Give it to me,” Eleni said. “Now.”

“Before the show has started?” Magdalena asked.

“What better time is there?” said Eleni.

As Eleni rolled up one sleeve, Magdalena retrieved a syringe from the bag on the bed. She uncapped it, inserted the needle into the vial of serum and drew some out. Eleni presented her arm, and Magdalena deftly slid the needle into a vein. As she depressed the plunger on the syringe, Eleni closed her eyes.

“It burns,” she said dreamily. “I can feel it.”

Sam watched with interest to see what would happen. He thought about the last time he’d seen someone attempt to create Legacies artificially. It was when the drug lord Bray had done it. That had ended with his gruesome death. Was Eleni about to suffer the same fate?