“You shouldn’t be here,” he says gruffly.
“I know you’re mad at me for keeping that secret from you,” I blurt out. “But please don’t let that cloud your judgment in there.”
His eyes flash with chagrin. “The fact that you find me incapable of making decisions—”
“No, that’s not what I’m saying. I’m just saying…Adrienne messed up. That doesn’t mean Kallister gets to do whatever he wants now.”
“We’ll talk about it later.” He storms past me into the war room, and the doors buzz closed.
Battling my frustration, I return to my quarters, wishing I were a damn mission lead. I find Poppy curled up on my bed, as she’s been most of the day.
“Hi,” I say, sitting on the edge and stroking her arm. “You feeling any better?”
“No,” she mumbles.
“Listen, I talked to Tana earlier. How do you feel about spending some time in the valley with Luisa’s parents?”
Poppy doesn’t even look at me. “Sure,” she says numbly.
“I think it will be good for you to get off this mountain. And I heard they’re planning a service for your mom down there in a couple of days.”
“Okay.”
I don’t know how to get through to her. Not sure I can. She’s lost the only parent she’s ever known, and though Fiona wasoverprotective, she loved her daughter fiercely. The woman did everything she could to protect her.
Together we go to her quarters, where I help her pack her things. Luisa shows up not long after. She holds out her arms and envelops the girl in a hug.
“I’m so sorry about your mom. We all loved Fiona.”
“Thanks,” Poppy whispers.
“My parents are excited to have you there. Mom doesn’t get to cook for guests as often as she’d like. You ready to go?”
I reach into Poppy’s mind before they leave.“Check in with me later, keen?”
“Keen,”she says.
I’m on pins and needles waiting for the war room meeting to wrap up. By the time I hear the knock on my door, I’m a bundle of nerves.
My heart leaps to my throat as I let Gray in. All it takes is one look at his face, and I know what happened.
“Why?” I say flatly. “Why would this vote pass?”
“Because she caused a massive civilian death count.” He sinks onto the small couch and rests his head in his hands, rubbing his temples. “None of the mission leads can trust her after that. Most of them admitted they voted to disband.” Gray lifts his head to meet my eyes. “My vote wouldn’t have counted for anything. It was nearly unanimous.”
“Nearly,” I echo.
“Two people voted against Order Five.”
“Do you know who?”
“No. Votes are secret.”
With hesitant steps, I go to sit beside him. “Are you ready to talk about it?” I ask quietly.
His gaze finds mine again. “No.”
And then he gets up and walks to the door.
