When I reached my room, there was a huge package lying on my bed. On top of the box sat a plain white envelope with my name scrawled across the front in familiar handwriting. Smiling, I tore open the envelope and found a single sheet of thick white stationery with the TOXIC logo emblazoned across the top, and several lines of script below.

  Natalia, Danbury told me that you would be attending Captain Alvarez’s dinner this evening. I took the liberty of selecting one of your gowns and having it cleaned, pressed, and taken in. I look forward to seeing you tonight. Love, Gretchen.

  Opening the box, I found a dark red gown made of raw silk. It had long, sheer sleeves that kind of belled at the wrists. The dress was designed to rest on the edge of my shoulders with deep V’s cut in the front and the back, exposing a great deal more skin than I normally showed. The waist was cinched and would likely emphasize my drastic weight loss. The skirt of the dress hung all the way down to the tops of my feet. Gretchen had also thought to include a black velvet jacket, perfectly tailored for my small body, to wear over the dress in case the night air was chilly.

  Gretchen loved having clothes made for me, and I never minded. It meant that I didn’t have to bother with doing my own shopping. Still, sometimes I felt more like a china doll than a person. I made a mental note to thank Gretchen when I saw her later.

  I carefully removed the gown and jacket from the box and hung them on the back of the bathroom door. There was no way either, let alone both, would fit in the closet. The mental and physical exhaustion from earlier returned, so I laid down on my bed, and closed my eyes to take a quick nap.

  An insistent pounding woke me after what seemed like mere minutes.

  “Go away,” I called groggily.

  “Talia, are you sleeping?” Penny’s impatient voice was muffled by the door.

  Opening my tired eyes just enough to see the clock next to my bed, I instantly registered the lack of sunlight streaming through the window.

  “Crap. What time is it?” I said more to myself than to Penny. “Come on in,” I called to Penny, mentally disengaging the door lock.

  “Don’t you check your communicator?” she demanded. “I’ve been messaging you for the last hour.”

  “Sleepy,” I replied, burying my face in the pillow.

  “We barely have enough time for you to get dressed!” she exclaimed.

  Grumbling, I turned to face her and rubbed my eyes trying to clear away the sleep.

  “You look pretty,” I commented with a grin.

  Penny’s wild red-orange hair was twisted into a knot at the nape of her neck. She wore a simple long black dress, a matching black shawl resting on her slim shoulders.

  “And you look awful,” she teased.

  “Thanks,” I said sarcastically.

  “Did something happen?” she asked suspiciously, her eyes growing wide with worry as she took in my disheveled appearance.

  I climbed out of bed and made my way to the bathroom to splash water on my face, debating whether to tell Penny about Ernest. I considered how much better I’d felt after telling Penny about what happened in Nevada, and decided in favor of filling her in on my trip to Medical.

  “Do you think I’m a monster?” I asked once I’d explained about Ernest’s condition.

  “Of course not, Tal!” she assured me. “It’s not your fault.”

  “Not my fault? How could it not be my fault? I kept pushing and pushing. I went too deep into his mind. I should’ve known better.”

  “No,” she said emphatically. “You were following the Director’s orders.”

  “He didn’t mean for me to turn Ernest’s mind to mush. He just wanted me to find out the truth,” I insisted, quick to defend Mac even though I also felt that he deserved some of the blame.

  “By pushing you past the point of exhaustion and forcing you to delve so far into Ernest’s mind that you broke his will?” she demanded, an uncharacteristic fire igniting behind her lime eyes.

  “Mac had no way of knowing how close Ernest was to breaking. Only I knew, and I still pushed. I pushed him over the edge.” My voice cracked when I thought about the way that Ernest had looked after the interrogation. I slumped down in my desk chair, and Penny knelt down in front of me to look me square in the eyes.

  “It’s not your fault, Natalia,” she said firmly in a low voice. “Let me hear you say it.”

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  “It wasn’t my fault,” I repeated numbly. For a second, looking at Penny’s earnest face, I almost believed the words were true.

  “Now get ready. We’re already late.” She smiled, her tone switching back to bubbly.

  There was no time to shower and straighten my hair, so I threaded a gold headband through the front of my curls to hold them back from my face. I applied a bare minimum of makeup – just enough to cover the dark circles beneath my eyes and to give my cheeks a rosy tint, so that I didn’t looking like the walking dead. Penny helped zip me into the dark red dress before I shrugged on the velvet jacket.

  Just as I was giving my appearance a last once over, there was a knock at the door. Penny rushed to answer it, so that I wouldn’t be distracted. Donavon stood in the hallway. He looked amazing in a perfectly tailored black suit complete with black shirt and black silk tie. He’d clearly put in extra effort, making his hair shiny and silky, falling neatly to his shoulders.

  “I’m sorry about earlier,” he apologized as he stepped into the room.

  “No need to be sorry,” I replied with a smile. I didn’t have the energy to fight with Donavon tonight.

  “I thought that you ladies might like an escort,” he said aloud.

  “Thank you.” I really was glad that he’d come.

  That is until Erik appeared in the doorway a second later. He, too, was wearing an immaculately tailored suit, but had opted for black pants and a white jacket instead with a white shirt and white bow tie. The white set off the tan of his skin. I had to restrain myself from hugging either boy. Worse, I didn’t know who I wanted to go to more.

  “Guess I should have called,” Erik said lightly.

  Donavon visibly tensed at the sound of Erik’s voice. Penny looked uncomfortably from one boy to the other, chewing on her thumbnail. Inwardly, I groaned. This was already shaping up to be an awesome night.

  “No, it’s fine. The four of us can go together,” I replied, giving Erik a hard look. His self-satisfied expression, and smug thoughts, let me know that he’d anticipated Donavon’s presence. Erik knew that showing up in my bedroom again would piss off Donavon. From the look on Donavon’s face, Erik’s plan had worked; to say that Donavon was less-than-thrilled to see him would’ve been an understatement.

  Our awkward foursome walked to the Headmistress's building. Penny and Erik chatted easily about mutual acquaintances back at Elite headquarters. I trailed several paces behind, trying to ignore Donavon's thoughts, centering mostly on his dislike for Erik. When we finally reached the entrance to the banquet hall, I let out a sigh of relief. The sooner I could get away from the stifling tension between the two boys, the better.

  Most people were already there, thanks to my extended nap. The room was decorated in a truly magnificent fashion. A huge rectangular table sat in the middle of the room. The tablecloth was made of thick gold fabric and embroidered with an intricate floral design. The place settings appeared to be bone china, slightly off-white and rimmed in real gold. All the silverware was actually gold-ware; real gold, if I had to guess. Huge red floral arrangements decorated the center of the table with red and gold candles intermixed. The candles were emitting a smell that could only be described as fall—cinnamon and pumpkin spice. Carving stations with huge hunks of every type of meat I could imagine—and some that I’d never seen—lined one wall.

  Waiters stood, attired in pressed black pants and crisp white shirts, ready to carve tender pieces of meat for the guests. The opposite wall was lined with large, brightly colored fruit: apples so red that they appeared painted, grapes larger than my thumb, watermelon with bright pink flesh in stark contrast to the black seeds, all emitting a mild sweet smell that mixed pleasantly with the candles.

  The back wall had been turned into an ice bar, where more waiters stood ready to wow attendees with their mixology skills. I grabbed Penny's arm harder than I intended to, evidenced by her audible gasp, and steered her in that direction.

  “Penny and I are going to get drinks," I called over my shoulder to Donavon and Erik, dragging a protesting Penny behind me. Thankfully, neither boy followed.

  “What can I get for you ladies?" a smiling bartender with orange eyes and messily styled blond hair asked as we approached.

  “Something strong,” I replied shortly. Penny gave me a worried look.

  “Just some wine for me,” she told the bartender without looking at him. “Are you okay?” she asked me.

  “Fine,” I snapped.

  Penny flinched at my harsh tone. I pinched the bridge of my nose between my thumb and forefinger and took several deep, calming breaths.

  “I’m fine, Penny,” I promised in a much softer voice. Penny relaxed and gave me a weak smile.

  “We’re going to have a good time tonight,” she assured me, placing one hand on my arm.

  The boy who’d taken our order juggled bottles filled with brightly colored liquors around his back and over his shoulders, adding only a splash from each to the chilled glass on the ice bar in front of me. When he finally finished his show, he added two cherries and handed me my drink with a gallant bow.

  “Thank you.” I smiled appreciatively and watched while he poured Penny's wine with significantly less fanfare.

  After the bartender handed her the goblet, Penny and I moved to the side of the room to make way for those waiting to be served behind us. I took the first sip of my purple drink, and exhaled blissfully as the liquor burned my throat. Calm washed over me, and I sighed. Penny watched me closely, observing the tension leaving my face, and chanced talking.

  “Tal?” she asked hesitantly.

  “Hmmm?”

  “Are you getting back together with Donavon?” She spoke quickly, trying not to lose her nerve to broach the topic.

  “What makes you think that?” I asked, sipping more of my drink to cover my unease. Were my confused thoughts projecting that loudly? I wasn’t exactly considering getting back together with him, but I’d been thinking about him a lot lately.

  “Well, I mean, he was in your hospital room every night while you were… sick. And then today when he came over to my booth, it seemed like you guys were pretty friendly. And then he showed up in your room tonight,” she ticked off.

  I watched Penny gulp her wine, choking slightly when she tried to swallow the huge mouthful. Her eyes remained on my face, like she was trying to read my answer before I gave it. I sipped my drink and mulled over her words.

  “I don’t know,” I said finally. “I’m not really thinking about dating him again, but he’s been so nice to me, and I think that maybe we could at least be friends.”

  I let my gaze wander over the crowd, feeling uneasy at the way Penny’s intense stare was boring into me.

  “Just friends?” she pressed gently. “I see the way you two look at each other, Tal. I just don’t want to see you get hurt again.” I turned to face her.

  “I know, Penny,” I promised. “I’m not stupid. I’ll be careful with him.”

  “Good.” Penny visibly relaxed and sipped her wine, more carefully this time.