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I eyed him suspiciously. He grabbed the syringe from his tray, lifting it up to the light and giving it several taps.

“W-what’s that? What are you doing with that?” I mumbled, stiffening in my chair.

“Protocol. Everyone gets the serum.”

“Serum?”Wait a minute…One thing was cutting out the tracker, but it was a completely different thing to inject me with mystery juice. “I don’t think so,” I argued.

Chelsea scoffed. “Telvians are such babies.”

“It’s just a vaccine, Mara.” Matias offered. “We all get it annually. It keeps us healthy while we’re in camp and prevents communicable diseases.” I faced him. He really had a nice voice—soothing, calming.

“And birth control,” Dr. Jones added as he grabbed my arm again, exposing my shoulder.

I whirled on him. “Excuse me?Are you serious?”

“Of course. All of our military are given a fertility suppressant, along with their vaccines. It’s protocol,” he added again, as though that just cleared everything up.

“No,” I said, as I started to pull back my arm.

“Listen up, princess,” Chelsea sneered, pulling my attention. Then—

Pinch!

“Ow!” I yelled, spinning back on the doctor.

“All done,” he said with a smile.

I rubbed my shoulder. “I can’t believe you just did that!”

“Yes, well, you can file a grievance with your commanding officer.” He grabbed his tray, and before I could argue further, he marched out of the tent.

“You did well.” Matias smiled brightly. “I’m impressed.”

I grimaced, annoyed by the invasion of my freaking rights, but couldn’t help but smile at the compliment. I glanced at Chelsea. She was watching him, and there was a longing in her eyes, one which I knew I’d had many times on my face whenever I looked at Chase. And suddenly, it all became crystal clear. She liked him. I looked away before she caught me staring, returning my attention to Matias.

“Thanks,” I drawled, still annoyed. “So what are you guys going to do next to me?”

He smiled again, flashing white teeth in perfect rows. “Well, I’m guessing you’d probably like to change out of those clothes.”

I glanced down and remembered the maid’s outfit. Rumpled, grimy, and splashed with dried blood, I suddenly realized just how terrible I probably looked. My hand shot up to my scalp and confirmed what I suspected. My hair was matted with dried blood. I felt hot suddenly. I’ve walked around this whole camp looking less than human. “And a shower too, I think.”

“Another luxury we can’t afford around here,” Chelsea hissed out.

Matias snapped back at her. “Knock it off, will you?”

“Seriously? What’s your problem?” She opened her arms wide, challenging him.

He stared at her for a minute before waving her off and facing me again. “We really don’t have showers around here. But there’s a river nearby that’s good for washing up. I can take you there.”

“A river? As in, a flowing body of free moving water?”

Chelsea snorted. Matias cast her a swift glare before returning his attention to me. “That’s right. I forget that you’ve never seen some of this stuff.” The corner of his lips turned up into a smirk. “Come on. I’ll take you there.”

***

After gathering fresh clothing, boots, a small ration of soap, and a clean towel, Matias guided me through camp and down a trail through the trees and greenery. Chelsea didn’t come with us this time. Headquarters paged her and she needed to report back. I was glad about it. I knew Chelsea wasnothappy with me, and it was going to take some time before she came around.

As I followed Matias, he talked the entire time. I learned that the trees surrounding me were called Sitka spruce, and that the greenery that covered the forest floor was a mix of ivy plants, shrubs, and berry bushes. The greenery was so thick that I couldn’t see through it at all. If it weren’t for the narrow path carved through it, I would have been completely lost.