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“Of course,” Cameron finally said, even though she wanted nothing more than to continue to question me in detail. Even though she was dying to know how I’d finished the game.

But what she said next was even worse.

“The Council has decided to call the claims that you were Mud when you entered the Iris Roerumors.” My ears whistled. “They’ve decided to tell the people that this rumor was spread with the intent of damaging the Council and the IDD’s image, that you werenotturned Mud at any point in your life, and that when you entered the Iris Roe, you did so by asking for their permission first—since you are an agent—and they gave you their blessing.”

Wait, wait, wait, hold on a minute…

She didn’t. “They’ve decided to alter all footage that will soon be released to the public to make your identification circle red instead of brown, and the players who’ve walked out of the game alive have already been sent NDA forms along with a check to ensure their cooperation.”

She smiled, closed the black folder, and pushed it over to the other side of the desk. Tome.

“You’ll read all the details in there, Agent La Rouge, but before you’re dismissed, I need to make sure that you understand that you will be confirming this narrative to the media when you speak to them today.”

My stomach twisted. “I amnotspeaking to the media.” If they thought I was going to stand there in front of the cameras and smile and lie through my fucking teeth for them, they were dead wrong.

I wouldn’t—and why in the fuck would they want to lie about me being Mud when I won the game?!

“You are, I’m afraid,” Cameron simply said. “It’s all right there in the file I was sent by the Council. I’m only here to make sure you understand what’s at stake here.”

I didn’t even reach for the fucking folder, and again, I must have spent a lot more time than just four days in the Iris Roe because everything I’d believed in, everything that had come so naturally to me before was gone now, right out the window. I no longer cared to keep my face expressionless—Iwantedher to see that I was pissed off.

“Why would the Council want me to lie about being Mud? Isn’t that going to be more inspiring to the people? I don’t understand, why lie?!”

This time, when Cameron laughed it was pretty genuine. “Don’t be ridiculous, Agent La Rouge. If every Mud out there thought they could enter and actually win the Iris Roe, they’d have to shut the whole game down.”

More laughter.

Why? I wanted to say.Why shouldn’t a Mud get a chance to try?

And wouldn’t that be a good thing, to shut down the Iris Roe that was anythingbuta game?Slaughterhousewas a much more accurate definition…

Except these things I didn’t say out loud. These things I kept to myself because I was well aware that this woman could use them against me.

“I will need an answer before you walk out of here, Agent,” Cameron said when she was done laughing. “Do you understand what you have to say to the people, toeveryonewho isn’t me or your grandmother, about your status before the Roe, and during?”

Yes, I fucking understand.“And what happens if I don’t?” Silly question—I already knew.

Cameron grinned. “You’ll find everything in the folder.” And she slowly pushed it even further until the end of it came off the edge of her desk on my side.

I grabbed it almost absentmindedly. It was cold and thick, heavier than I expected.

“And now, for theotherpart,” Cameron said, leaning back on her chair with a small sigh, as if she got the worst of it out of the way and she could relax now.

“What other part?” There were other parts?

“The forest in Back River,” Cameron said, and it was like she stabbed me right through the lungs. “The forest where you lost two teammates, including your team leader. You killed a catfairie there—the same one we suspect turned you Mud.”

“No.” The word left my lips so fast it was a miracle I didn’t scream it.

Fuck no—that was not what happened. My team leader and my teammate tried to kill me, shot me, and I most definitely did not kill that seven-foot tall catfairie.

Cameron pretended I hadn’t spoken at all. “You will no longer be subjected to interrogation for that day. The Council feels it’s unnecessary since, after all, you won the Iris Roe and are no longer Mud.”

I shook my head—interrogation?

“Michael and Erid tried to kill me in that forest,” I said through gritted teeth because they couldn’t seriously expect me to just pretend that that didn’t happen.

“That is a very heavy accusation to make, especially about people who are dead,” said Cameron, sending chills down my spine. “There is no proof to indicate?—”

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