“Kallister called her naïve today. They’re constantly sniping at each other.”
“Do you agree with him? That she’s naïve?”
“I don’t fucking know, baby.”
My heart flips at the endearment. He calls me eitherbabyorcowgirl,and both names never fail to make me melt.
“Ade’s always been idealistic, but she’s really pushing her peace agenda lately. She believes we can share this Continent, that there’s a way for both sides to live together.”
I think about Lyddie and Roe and how much they loathe people like me, how they think we’re broken and damaged, and I’m not so sure about the likelihood of Adrienne’s vision coming to fruition.
“Meanwhile, Kallister insists we can’t trust the Company. That nomatter what they promise, they’ll turn on us the moment we lower our guard.”
My brows knit together. “Wait.Arethey making any promises?”
“Yes and no. There hasn’t been any recent contact, but the last time Adrienne met with Travis he said he was willing to discuss peace terms.”
“What do Teriq and Fiona think about it?”
“Teriq is firmly with Kallister on this. And Fiona wasn’t there today. She left for Bramble this morning to help their healer with wellness checks.”
Right. I remember Poppy mentioning her mother was leaving the base. The teen was complaining because she wanted to go with Fiona and was shot down, of course.
“And you still think it’s a bad idea?” I prompt.
“Don’t you?”
I absently run my fingers along his bare chest. “I don’t know Travis very well, but yeah…my gut says not to trust him. The fact that he helped take down his own father doesn’t convince me of his trustworthiness. If anything, it does the opposite. When you’re willing to betray your own blood, then you’ll betray anyone.” I hesitate. “But…”
“But what?”
“What’s the alternative? Keep fighting the Company? Why not at least try to strike a peace deal? Find a way not to kill each other.”
“Uh-huh, because it’sthatsimple,” he says with a laugh. “Both sides need to want peace for the killing to stop.”
“But isn’t that what Adrienne is trying to do? Convince the other side to want it, too?” I bite my bottom lip. “Part of me really hopes she’s right. That thereisa way to work with them.”
Gray remains unconvinced. “I don’t think we can, cowgirl. And I’m worried about what will happen if we keep making deals with our enemy, especially without consulting our own people. There are those in the Uprising who won’t be thrilled about working with Travis Redden. That’s why the corruption mission was off the books. If the general population of the Dagger knew about it, I imagine there’d be a lot of anger. Some will think it was a betrayal to team up withTravis. And some might take drastic measures to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
I stiffen. “Like make a move against the Authority? Civil war?”
“Maybe.”
“What if the majority agree? Couldn’t you take it to a wider vote?”
“Sure, but that would mean trusting that Travis is acting in good faith, and I don’t know if he is. The problem is, I don’t know what his goals are,” Gray says with a frown. “And the first rule in war is to know your enemy. Merrick Redden was easy to figure out. He wanted order. He was willing to work with loyalist Mods as long as they followed his rules, and as long as they knew their place. Travis hasn’t revealed his motives to us yet. He got rid of his father—why? Because he wanted to loosen the reins of martial law? Or because he wanted to create something even worse?”
“I don’t know.”
“Exactly.”
I chew harder on my lip. “But even if his motives aren’t pure right now, maybe his mind can be changed.”
“People don’t change because you want them to change.”
“If we make him see reason—”
“What’s reasonable to you might seem unreasonable to someone else.”
