There it was. I had done my part. Gotten her information. Kept her secrets. I was her perfect pet. I had assimilated, groveled, drooled on command. I’d horded her goodwill knowing, one day, I would need it. Today, with the taste of blood still on my lips, was that day.

She was silent for a long time, her gaze shifting back and forth—from the new dawn to the tower of polished plaques on the adjacent wall. When she spoke, her tone was pleasant. “I, too, was valedictorian; did you know?”

Uncertain, I remained quiet. The sun was cresting over the high peaks to the east, awakening the room inch by inch.

Jones went on. “I was at the top of my class in a better university than this school could ever dream of being.” Her mouth puckered around the word school. “I was valedictorian, but the boy under me was chosen for the Assembly. And the three imbecile boys after him were chosen too. But not me, no, I was told to complete a teaching certificate. Do you know why?”

I stayed quiet.

“Do you?” she hissed.

“No, Teacher.”

“Of course you don’t.” She crossed her arms. “English women aren’t allowed to speak in the Assembly, Ms. Cobane. If we want power, we must take it. We’re forced take it, but you—you Kongo bitch!” The word burst forth like the punchline of a joke, then she ducked her head and laughed. “I bested them all and yet, here I am, entertaining bargains—with dogs.”

Her head came up. A muscle ticked in her jaw. Heavy cords bulged in her neck. Worse, her eyes—so glassy I saw my reflection. Not the teacher’s pet, I realized, too late—no, never that. Nothing so cherished. I was not a pet, but a pawn.

She picked up her steel-lined ruler. “Do you remember your assignment, Arika?”

The horror of my error crashed over me. I stepped back.

“You were to earn the Vine boy’s trust and report back to me everything he said.” The ruler snapped against the palm of her hand.

I stepped back. A spout of fear gushed up, pooling behind my knees.

“Instead, I hear the pair of you were playing nursemaid.”

I stepped back. “I—I helped because the fever posed a danger to our cause—our cause. You must see the logic. I thought—”

Snap. “Your job, Ms. Cobane, is to execute my thoughts, not question them.”

“But the harvest—”

“Is secure!” She finished. “We saw to it weeks ago. Your task was to infiltrate Director Kumar’s inner circle via the boy—the boy! That was your job.” She strode forward.

I scrambled back until my shoulder blades touched the far wall. Then I slipped into the darkness.

She’ll beat you like nothing for this. More ’cause you’ve made her wait. Never forget, she likes to see the marks.

“Look at me!”