“What are you now? The voice of my conscience?” I shot back. I heard voices down the hall and switched to speaking telepathically.Bones messed with my friends. I had to do something! Or would you rather Kallie and Marcus get killed over this? I may have thrown him in the siren lake, but I didn’t kill him. The sirens are to blame for that.
Oberi was oddly quiet in response. Finally, he said,You saved Marcus. You did the right thing.
Hell, I hoped so. Because it didn’t matter what I said out loud. Deep down, I couldn’t shake the guilt twisting inside of me. I had committed plenty of crimes before, but I’d never done something like this.
The Institute had fucked with me and forced me to make decisions I didn’t want to make. If I hadn’t dealt with Bones, Marcus would be dead.
It didn’t matter if you entered the Institute innocent or not. One way or another, it would make a villain out of you.
And sometimes, the villain became the murderer.
CHAPTERTWELVE
AVA-MARIE
The Institute is making monsters out of you all.
The voices in my head were prodding this morning, but for once, I listened to them instead of ignoring them. They reflected my own internal musings so close that I was worried their thoughts were merging with my own.
A choice will soon be made, Ava.
You can’t escape your own consequences.
What you are looking for is easily hidden.
“What are you trying to tell me?” I murmured.
It was then the voices became silent.
I couldn’t decide if it was my intuition or my disorder talking to me. I should’ve been scared, but I wasn’t. All I wanted to do was decipher the mystery of my own mind, because whatever the voices were saying, they seemed to be leading me somewhere important.
I passed Kallie and Scarlet making out in the corner, and I tried to ignore them. They were all over each other at all times of the day, to the point of shoving their relationship in everyone’s face. It’d been cute at first, but it was starting to get annoying. Marcus had taken to pouting in the Arts & Crafts room whenever he wasn’t in class, because he knew it was the one place where Scarlet and Kallie wouldn’t show up.
He was starting to get on my nerves, too. If he was so bothered by Kallie dating Scarlet, he should’ve spoken up sooner when he had the chance. It was his own fault he’d let her get away.
I lifted my gaze and saw Charlie walking toward me, Oberi bouncing at his side. I was determined to talk to him. I’d heard what had happened from Marcus, and had been looking for Charlie ever since. I rushed after him before he could find a way to get away from me.
“Charlie.” I grabbed his arm. “How are you?”
He gave a noncommittal shrug. “Fine. Should I be any different?”
Something in this tone wasn’t convincing. I couldn’t give a shit Bones was dead. Like, honestly, who cared? But I cared about Charlie’s feelings, and I knew for all his crimes, taking a life was something he’d never done before.
“Fine— Charlie, youkilledsomeone!” I kept my voice low, but I was still afraid someone would overhear.
“So? I did what I had to,” Charlie said roughly. “I have no regrets.”
“But—”
“Just let it drop. It’s better to pretend like nothing happened. That’s the best way to keep your head down around here.”
Charlie walked past me without a goodbye. Oberi skittered after him, growling a low complaint.
He was in denial about his feelings. This was going to bite him in the ass sooner rather than later.
But he’d done it to save Marcus. I knew if Charlie had no other choice, he wouldn’t hesitate to kill somebody else, if it was to protect his friends. He hadn’t even flinched when he nearly murdered Kyle in the Darke Games.
I worried this place was changing Charlie into a person I wouldn’t recognize once we got out.Ifwe got out.
