Hannah slowly steps out from behind me before I can stop her.
“Hannah—”
She ignores me completely.
Which is becoming a problem I’m weirdly attracted to.
The commander watches her approach carefully.
“You think fear controls people,” Hannah says quietly.
The commander says nothing.
“You think violence makes people obedient.” Her eyes sharpen. “But all you’ve done is create enemies.”
One of the militia fighters near the entrance shifts uneasily.
Another avoids looking at her entirely.
Interesting.
The commander notices too.
“You speak boldly for someone surrounded by armed men.”
Hannah doesn’t back down.
“You kidnapped children.”
His expression hardens slightly for the first time.
“There are larger wars happening than your morality allows you to understand.”
“No,” Hannah replies softly. “There are just men who justify evil because it profits them.”
Jesus Christ.
I should probably stop her before she gets herself shot.
Instead I’m standing here feeling irrationally proud.
The commander stares at her for one long moment.
Then slowly—
He smiles again.
But this one feels different.
Not amused.
Interested.
Dangerously interested.
And I hate it instantly.
“She was right about you,” he says suddenly.
