Page 63 of Blue Arrow Island
“What are the work assignments?”
He turns to Nova, who responds by counting them off on her fingers.
“Sewing, security, construction, the farm, the garden, fishing, laundry, childcare, cooking...those are the main ones. You get to choose, and you can rotate quarterly if you want to.”
“Can I have my knife back? Please?”
Marcus’s brows shoot into his hairline. He bites out an unamused laugh. “Again, it’s not yours. And no.”
I sigh heavily. “I have so many questions.”
“Yeah, same.” He glares at me.
“Why do they inject people with that stuff? Aromium?”
Marcus stares at me like a stubborn ass. Finally, Nova answers. “It enhances the senses and physical abilities. You get faster, stronger, need less sleep and food. Over time, you develop sharper hearing and vision. And it heightens emotions.”
I breathe out, leaning my head on my hand. “So that’s what was happening to me.”
Marcus cuts his glower in her direction.
“We tell everyone that when they get here,” she says, turning her focus back on me. “It happens to everyone. But it’s different depending on your DNA. Everyone gets more volatile, violent and sexually aggressive, because that’s what it’s designed to do, but some people tolerate it better than others.”
A knot of anger tightens in my chest. Whitman is playing games with people’s lives. That’s nothing new, but changing who we are? It’s a brutal abuse of power.
“She just gave you an honest answer,” Marcus says. “So tell us where you got the knife.”
I hesitate. They did save my life. And they have taken care of me. I’ll give him a partial answer.
“I found it.”
Something shifts in his eyes. “When?”
“Recently.”
He leans forward in his seat. “Where?”
I shake my head. “Not yet. You can try another question, though.”
Sighing heavily, he runs a hand through his hair. It lands in the same perfect disarray. “Did anyone at Rising Tide say anything about their supply levels?”
That one, I’ll answer. “There are no supplies. I saw the supply room. The shelves were empty. There were a bunch of barrels and I didn’t see if anything was inside them. But there’s no food. Almost no medicine. And people are getting upset about it.”
A glint of satisfaction passes over Marcus’s expression, so quick I almost miss it. Why is he pleased about the Tiders suffering? Not all of them are like Virginia.
There’s a knock at the door.
“Come in,” Marcus says.
Ellison opens the door and comes inside. She puts a hand on my shoulder.
“I don’t want her to overdo it. Can you pick it back up another time?”
It’s a small gesture, her touching my shoulder. But it makes tears well in my eyes. It’s been so long since anyone cared about me. Olin does. He risked a lot to help me. But this small gesture from Ellison—openly supporting me in front of her own people—isn’t small to me.
Marcus nods, dropping his brows with disappointment.
“I thought Amira could show her around camp,” Ellison says. “And Vance will be with them, of course.”
