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“Where do you keep disappearing to? It seems like you’re always being whisked away on some secret mission,” Connor says when I return to our suite. Ben and Laura glance up from the movie they’re watching, and I plaster a convincing smile on my face.

“He’s right. What’s going on with you?” Ben asks.

“Nothing. I’m just helping Clausen with a project. You didn’t go to the main show tonight?”

“Laura wasn’t feeling well, and your boyfriend here was worried about you,” Ben says. Connor shoots him an annoyed look.

“Well, thanks for the concern, but there’s nothing to worry about.” I drop to the empty cushion beside Connor.

“So you’re helping Clausen with a project? Did you really think we were going to let that slide?” Ben asks.

Shit. I’ve been getting better at building reasonable lies. It was inevitable I’d mess up eventually, especially with the current pressure weighing on me. My mind races for a recovery, but it’s too late for one of the hundred other explanations I should have used.

“It’s nothing. We’re just testing my gift. Didn’t you do that when you started?”

“Of course, but not with Clausen,” Connor says.

“What kind of testing did they do with you?” I ask, curious in light of what Daniel had said about Clausen’s personal toybox.

“Lots of stuff. Brain scans, cognitive tests, blood tests. Plenty of psychologists got involved, too. They couldn’t figure much out though.

We still do follow-ups. Mostly stupid stuff now.

They give me pictures and I recreate the images on spreadsheets in some custom software.

Seems like a waste of time, but it’s kind of fun. I’m getting really good at it.”

I swallow my alarm and force a smile. I can only imagine what nefarious activity they really have him doing. Probably coding advanced weapons or something.

“What about you two?”

Laura looks over briefly before focusing back on the screen. “Same as everyone else. Just learning to control it better.”

“Can you use other people’s abilities, even when they’re not present? Or is it more of a direct reaction?” I’m not prepared for the heat that fires back at me.

“How do you know about my gifts? No one knows except Clausen! Why would he tell you that?”

I shrink and shake my head. “I… I don’t know. I only guessed based on what I’ve seen.”

“Liar! Who told you?” She covers the distance between us and grabs me. Her eyes widen, and she throws my arm back in shock.

“He told you,” she whispers hotly. “How long have you been together?”

“What are you talking about?” I shoot back.

“Okay, ladies, calm down,” Ben says.

“Don’t tell me to calm down. This slut is sleeping with Daniel!”

I freeze. “What?”

“You heard me! I saw you with your own vision things.”

“I’m not sleeping with him, but yes we’re better friends than I let on. So what?” Connor’s disappointment when I catch his look is the least of my problems.

“I guess that explains why he always makes you cry,” Ben quips, and I glare at him.

“You’re more than friends.” Laura snaps. “Friends don’t make-out in closets!”

“You don’t know what you saw. And if it’s the future, fine. I can’t defend it.”

“So you’re saying you never kissed him?”

“What do you care if I have?”

“Because you don’t know him!”

“Are you jealous? Because you sound like a jealous ex right now.”

Laura reddens, her eyes bulging from her face. “You think you know him, but you don’t. He’ll use you and turn on you just like he does everyone else who tries to get close to him.”

I clench my fists and glare right back. “Pretty sure it’s all of you who don’t know anything,” I spit back and march toward the exit.

I hide in the library until I feel safe to sneak back to my room.

A fitful night’s sleep does little to calm my frayed nerves, and the following morning I consider skipping my first meal.

But the only way to prove them wrong is to act like it, so I have no choice but to fake confidence.

I’ve been pretending since day one. What’s another show for the masses?

As expected, an icy greeting waits for me at breakfast, and I appreciate the opportunity to eat in silence.

Lucy’s cold stares are more difficult to absorb, however, and I almost hope for a confrontation to air the hostility.

Once again, I have a taste of Daniel’s world, and once again, I wonder how he survived this life without an ally.

At least I have him to ground me. What did he have?

The luxury of knowing he wasn’t taking anyone down with him?

Clausen’s approach as the students file out of the dining hall sends my pulse racing. I follow him without protest, but when we pass the converted closet, a new wave of fear courses through me.

“You have him back downstairs,” I whisper, forcing in a ragged breath.

Clausen glances down at me but doesn’t respond, and we walk the rest of the way in silence. The cold, dark corridor seems longer than before, more ominous. The glow at the end of the hall hurts my eyes.

Daniel tenses in alarm when I walk into the room, which only makes everything worse. He didn’t know I was coming, which means they’ve taken back control of the game.

“What’s going on? Why is she here?” he asks, clenching his fists in anger.

Clausen ignores him.

An assistant closes the door, and Clausen motions for me to be seated in a folding chair. They haven’t chained Daniel to the chair this time, though his hands are secured in front of him.

“I heard an interesting report that indicates the two of you have deceived us.”

Daniel’s confusion is genuine, and his eyes widen as he must read our minds. “Laura hates me and doesn’t like Rebecca either. Why would you believe anything she says about us?”

“Because it’s very believable.”

I cross my arms, following Daniel’s lead. “Laura saw a vision of the past, that’s it. You already know how I felt about him. Why are we even having this discussion?”

Clausen considers our testimony and adjusts his glasses. “She said you were very defensive.”

“I was. I don’t like being bullied.”

“I see. So, you wouldn’t mind if we continued our experiments on Daniel? You would have had a problem with that in the time of that past vision when you cared about him.” It’s bait. And way too obvious bait.

My eyes narrow. “Do you really think I’d condone experimenting on your students? At any time?”

“Right.” He clears his throat and lowers himself into another vacant chair.

“I’m not here to waste time, so let’s be blunt.

I do believe you still have feelings for him.

I do believe you two have been plotting this entire time, and now I want to know why.

No more games. Now is your chance to make me understand why you’d do that. ”

“You’re the one who sent me back to him to gather information. I only did exactly what you told me to do.”

“No, you reported back what he told you to say.” Clausen turns his attention to Daniel who straightens to a less vulnerable position. “Where did you get the pills, Daniel? Who gave them to you?”

“You figure it out,” Daniel shoots back, glaring at him. “Maybe you don’t have as much control as you thought.”

“Don’t make this difficult. Tell me now, and Rebecca goes back upstairs to her group session.”

I pull in a breath and venture a look to Daniel. He’s scared—terrified. I’m missing something. Clearly I’m missing several things.

“You wanted to use her against me, and I was trying to use her against you. None of this is her fault. She doesn’t know anything more than what either of us wanted her to know. This is between us,” he says.

“You involved her, so here we are. No more games, no more strategy. Where did you get the pills?”

Daniel glances at me, and I catch his instinctive pull at the restraints on his wrists. Something’s wrong. Something changed.

Suddenly, a painful grip pulls me from the chair and shoves me toward two guards. They drag me to the opposite wall, and I cry out, struggling against them.

A fist slams into my side, exploding my lungs. I vaguely hear Daniel’s shouts and subsequent groans as they subdue him as well. It’s not real. Another nightmare? A vision? But pain pulses through me. Ties are being wrapped around my wrists.

“Clausen, you bastard! She has nothing to do with this!”

Daniel slumps in the chair from a blow to the face. He shakes it off as Clausen leans close.

“Then tell me what I want to know.” Clausen glances over at me, and the guard raises his fist to strike me again.

“No! Okay. I got them from you.”

Clausen stiffens, locking his hands on the armrests, inches from Daniel. “What are you talking about?”

“You’ve been giving them to me for years. I just didn’t always take them when you thought I did.”

Clausen lets out his breath. “You expect me to believe that?”

“Whether you believe it or not, it’s the truth. I planted the idea that you have a traitor to weaken you.”

“How do I know you’re not lying now?”

“Which is more plausible? That I used a weapon I openly had in my possession or that there’s some grand conspiracy going on behind your back?”

“Honestly, I don’t know. But I can’t trust anything you say.

And the reality is, I don’t know if your affection for her is genuine or not.

I don’t know if you’d let her suffer for a lie, but I do trust her.

” Clausen evaluates me coldly. “I do believe her affection for you is genuine. I would believe a distressed confession from her.”

“No! You bastard. Hey!” Daniel cries. “Get away from her! She has nothing to do with this. This wasn’t part of the deal!”

“There is no deal. You changed the rules.”

I never have a chance to brace for the first blow. Or the second. By the third, the room spins, and I’m on the floor. Distant voices scream in the background, but they don’t affect me. There are only lights, and sparks, and throbbing pain. After a moment I recognize Daniel’s voice again.

“Beating me isn’t going to help,” I mumble. “I can’t tell you something I don’t know.”