“I forgive you.” Fabricio’s smile was a little broken. “I know what it’s like to live in a cage. I know how things that should never be normal become normal. And even when you’re out, you fall back on old habits for comfort, just for the familiarity, even when you shouldn’t. You hurt people because that’s what you’ve always done. You lie because you can’t remember telling the truth.” Fabricio’s voice went bitter. “I know that better than anyone.” He pointedly didn’t look at Nita. “And sometimes, in that first while after you’re free, all you can do is make mistakes, do the exact things you were trying to escape from over and over, because you don’t know who you are and it scares you.”

Kovit hadn’t missed how similar Fabricio’s musings were to his own, and his voice was soft as he said, simply, “Yes.”

Fabricio stepped away. “I forgive you, Kovit.” Then he cracked a warped grin. “But don’t do it again, okay? I really didn’t enjoy it.”

Kovit laughed, a short, scratchy sound.

Nita suddenly had a terrible, dark thought, as she watched that bond of safety click into place around Fabricio, the same way it had for Nita, for Gold, for Henry, for Patchaya. The mental shift in Kovit’s mind that meant he’d never be able to hurt Fabricio again.

She wondered if Fabricio had only said those words to earn Kovit’s protection.

Fabricio was smart, and he was good at manipulation. He’d spent enough time with them that he could play Kovit like a finely tuned violin. And he had to know that Kovit wouldn’t—couldn’t—hurt people he cared about. Making a deal with Nita was just that—a deal. A deal could be broken. Nita could decide to betray him at any point.

But Kovit? Kovit would never betray Fabricio now. And he’d never let Nita betray Fabricio either.

Kovit awkwardly readjusted his blankets, trying to hide his emotions, and Fabricio turned to Nita, their eyes meeting for a moment. He gave her a small smile, not a smug smile, but a sad smile, a smile of recognition. He knew what she was thinking, he could see the question in her eyes, the angry demand, Did you manipulate him just to be safe?

But in the broken cracks of his expression and the grief in his smile, she realized that Fabricio himself didn’t truly know either. He’d lied so often and so long, had spent his whole life manipulating people, that even he didn’t know anymore whether he said things because he meant them or because they would benefit him.