Page 106 of Fool Me Twice

Ez’s skin crawls. “No offense,” she says, “but I really don’t want to talk about this right now.”

JJ immediately snaps his folder shut, chagrined. “Of course. Sorry. It’s none of my business, anyway‍—I just‍—‍” He gives her an unsure smile. “I just don’t like seeing you unhappy. You’ve always gone out of your way to help me when I needed it. I just wanted to return the favor. I know that I’m still sort of on the outskirts here, but…”

Ez’s heart twinges. “No, you’re not,” she says firmly. “Not anymore. You haven’t been for a while now, lackey. You’re one of us, whether you like it or not.”

JJ grins. “I do like it,” he says, and he pushes himself to his feet, stretching his arms above his head. “All right. I’m going to head in and join Cass. Just‍—just get some rest, okay? And think about what I said. Because part of me really does believe that, in the end, Roma didn’t want to betray us.”

Ez looks away. “Yeah. Maybe. Night, JJ.”

“Night, Ez.” JJ pads silently down the hallway, that demon-like grace he’s picked up over the past few months more obvious than ever, and Ez thinks‍?—

Thinks about how the only thing that could convince a hunter like him to leave the Sanctum was a little girl to take care of and a partner to love. Wonders if Roma saw something in Ez, in their dual spellcasting and their easy camaraderie and their delicate trust, that really did make her consider defecting, too.

Even if it was just for a moment.

45

Bryant is late for training.

In fact, Roma thinks as she slams her fists into the heavy bag, “late” is a misnomer altogether. She and Bryant were planning to meet up at ten a.m. to train together before lunch, but that was nearly two hours ago. Roma has already thrown every bladed weapon in her possession at multiple targets and done agility drills until she was dry heaving against the wall, and now, she’s just killing time until the dining hall starts serving lunch.

It’s not unheard of for Bryant to miss training‍—she occasionally gets waylaid by the Council, and she admittedly has a habit of taking naps at inopportune times‍—but it’s a bit strange these days. Despite Roma’s insistence that she’sfine,damn it, Bryant has been making it a point to drag her out to the training grounds every day, loyally enabling Roma’s favorite coping mechanism and subtly using her purebred status to telegraph to other hunters that disrespecting Romaalsomeans disrespecting a Nehemiah.

Something must have come up. Maybe Nasir called her in? Roma hasn’t spoken with the councilwoman in a few days now,not since she delivered her long-awaited report on the Deep. Even then, over a week after her failure, Nasir didn’t mention anything about a punishment.

She wishes the Council would just get it over with. The anticipation is making her sick to her stomach, and bitterly, she thinks that might be why they’re stalling in the first place.

And a small, twisted part of Roma also wants the Council to punish her because she feels like she deserves it. Not for failing her mission, but for failing Ez and JJ and Naomi and the rest of them.

Then again, the greatest punishment of all might just be that she’s stuck here. She can’t defect, not without an exit strategy. JJ had Cass, Desi, Ez, and Obie; Naomi and Sawyer had Micah and Gregorio. They had safe houses, they had resources‍?—

They had friends on the outside to rally around them.

Roma has nothing. She whips one last roundhouse kick into the punching bag before dropping her fight stance and checking her watch.

Noon on the dot. Time for lunch. Sighing, Roma undoes her boxing wraps, shoves them into her pockets, and starts dragging her feet towards the dining hall.

Part of her is hoping to find Chester there, but she knows it’s unlikely. In fact, she’s barely seen him at all since her mission ended and he was given more interrogation shifts. That’s not surprising, given the high volume of prisoners right now, but Romaissurprised by how much the sudden separation hurts. The four of them spent most of their days together before their final exams six years ago, but once Strike Team Kappa was on call for fieldwork and Chester was a full-time interrogator, their hangouts became a lot more infrequent.

Having him by her side during her ill-fated operation reminded Roma of just how much she missed seeing him every day. And, like JJ said so many months ago, Chester has alwaysbeen the most critical of the Sanctum at baseline, always been particularly sensitive to the Council’s machinations and the bloodlines hierarchy’s oppression.

Nowadays, Roma can relate to that more than she cares to admit.

Maybe it’s good that Chester is on shift and Bryant didn’t show. She can eat her lunch in silence, surrounded by the condemnation of the other hunters, before heading up to her room, curling into a ball, and trying not to think altogether.

Just like she has every other day since last week.

“Yo, Gutierrez!”

Speak of the devil.Frowning, Roma turns around to see Bryant jogging down the hallway towards her, a manila folder tucked under one arm. “Hey, Nehemiah,” Roma says, pausing to let Bryant catch up. “Missed you on the training grounds. Where’ve you been?”

“With Councilwoman Nasir,” Bryant says, slowing to a stop in front of her. “We have a new assignment.”

Roma grimaces. “Another rogue summoner?”

Bryant shakes her head. “No. No, actually‍—‍” She takes a deep breath, meeting Roma’s eyes. “They found him, Roma. They found JJ.”

All at once, the world goesveryquiet around Roma. “What?” she manages.

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