Elara shook her head, glimpsing Romy’s terror. “Ro, if we’d taken another road, we would have had to abandon the car by now to avoid a sentry point. You did well.”

She tried to smile at her friend’s reassurance.

Thrym leant over. “Ro, are you okay? You. . . . You’re acting a little strange.” He was talking to her, but avoiding her gaze. He’d been doing it ever since he’d seen her covered in blood and continued to do so although she’d wiped off most of the blood in the bungalow.

Dizziness assaulted her and she squeezed her eyes closed.

The boys were whispering, but she could hear every word.

“She’s been like that since she killed him.”

Killed him. Killed him. Killed him.

“Uh, you guys?” Elara threw a worried look at Romy.

Romy realised she was rocking and stopped.

Deimos reached forwards and squeezed her shoulder. She shrugged him off.

Thrym was staring out the front window, deep in thought. “I think we can assume it’s a little surprise from the Orbitos.”

“What are you thinking?” Elara whispered to him, still casting furtive looks Romy’s way.

“I’m not sure, yet.” Thrym met Romy’s gaze for a fleeting moment.

This time she turned away. “We shouldn’t be wasting time sitting here.” They were talking about her like she wasn’t there. “Keep driving. We take the vehicle as far as we can to save Deimos’s energy.”

Elara’s eyes lifted to the mirror, exchanging a look with the boys. Whatever she saw there had her shifting the middle stick into position. “Roger that, Ro.”

The car lurched forwards into the unknown.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

They walked through dense bush, only stopping for a couple of hours at a time. Hardly enough time to generate the energy to continue, and definitely not enough time to think about Atlas. So Romy wasn’t complaining. Knot 27 had ditched the car three days ago, covering it with the leaf netting, after emptying it of their supplies.

An AK-103 now bounced against Romy’s side.

There was only one thought on their minds: the people on their trail. Through Atlas, the Mandate and the Oribitos would be well aware of their escape by now.

Deimos held up an arm. “I need to rest.”

His usual olive complexion was haggard and white. Deimos had looked near collapse all morning. Already, the night breaks had extended to three hours to give his nanos time to ready his body for the next day. Romy guessed burning hatred was the only thing keeping her knot mate going.

Phobos leaped forwards and guided the swaying man to the ground.

Elara was watching her. They hadn’t stopped watching her since the car. She wished they wouldn’t. It made her feel as though they were planning something behind her back.

“How are you feeling?” Elara asked.