Ryan leans closer, peering at my phone over my shoulder. "Origin of the disease. Not exactly a light topic."

I shut my phone off and sneer at him. "You're not the one reading it."

He opens his mouth to respond, but a bag gets tossed at my feet, silencing him.

Amari appears as she hops onto the ferry.

Ice spreads through my chest and I stand. "What are you doing here?"

She grins, her curls bouncing as she hops from heel to toe. "Isn't it obvious? My Protector and I have been assigned to the city."

Sasha traipses up the gangplank behind Amari, her face marred with a scowl. She tosses her bag down and turns to glare at Singh and Tarak, who watch us from shore.

"She's doing this to get back at me," I rasp.

"We requested the assignment," Sasha assures, coming to stand beside her girlfriend.

Amari grins, but her eyes are troubled.

I have a feeling she's not just doing this to get off the island. I reach for her. "After last time you-?"

She jerks back, her smile dropping. "I'm fine," she snaps. "I don't want to sit still anymore. If there's nothing to do here, I want to go where the action is so we can figure this out."

At least she'll be closer to Tae if anything happens with her visions. Both her and Sasha will be away from Singh, too, which could be safer.

At least we can win a fight against the Infected.

"We're not going to figure anything out," I growl. "We're going to do our jobs."

Her face tells me I'm an idiot.

"What are we figuring out?" Ryan asks.

I half-turn. I'd almost forgotten he was there. "Nothing. Like I said, we're going to do our jobs."

"Is there something to figure out?"

"Yeah, why you keep sticking your nose in my business."

Ryan lifts his chin. "You intrigue me."

Sasha and Amari sneer at him. "Back off," Sasha says. "He's spoken for."

Ryan scoffs and crosses his arms. He shifts from foot to foot, then juts his chin towards Tarak. "By pip-squeak? As I recall, Mason made his choice."

I roll my eyes. I don't bother saying anything as I step away. The burner phone buzzes in my shirt's chest pocket, so I find a bathroom where I can look at it in private.

Tae's responding to me telling her I've been assigned off-island. She wants me to keep her updated and to meet up with her in person if possible.

I doubt we're going to be able to meet up in the city. It's under Singh's thumb almost as much as the Academy. But I want to see her and Tomas again, against my better judgement. At least when my parents were fighting an unwinnable war against Ishani Singh, they had the dissenters backing them up.

All I've got is a voice in my head and two idiots ready to throw themselves head-first into a fight they can't win. At least Tae and Tomas are slightly less idiotic. Well... Tae is.

The door creaks open and Sasha's boots appear under the stall door. She raps her knuckles on it and leans against the wall.

"You're not supposed to be in here," I tell her. "This is the men's room."

"Amari doesn't trust Ryan," she says.

"Do you?" I open the stall door and stare at her.

She sucks her cheeks in, then puffs them out with a heavy breath. "I don't know him. But he's not Tarak."

"Is that a good or a bad thing?"

She shrugs.

"Why are you here, Sasha?"

"Look, Amari's still having visions and I'm worried about her. And I'm worried about you!"

"You have no reason to be. Focus on Amari. We'll be off the island now and maybe Tae can make some actual progress figuring out how to take Amari's visions away." I start for the door.

"We used to talk about this stuff, Mason."

I hesitate, turning to face her. "You know I'm not good at talking."

"You seem fine with your new pals."

"Are you jealous, Sash?"

She pouts at me, pushing off the wall. "Maybe I am. We've been through a lot together. All of us. Tarak should be the one here, not Ryan. Amari and I should be the ones you talk to. Not that princess and her disgrace of a Hunter."

I grab her shoulders and squeeze. "You two are still my best friends. That's why I'm not filling you guys in. I can't lose you. Not like my... I care about you too much to watch you get hurt."

"Is that why you're pushing Tarak away?"

"Sasha."

"You've been pining over him for months. Years, even. You expect me to believe one mistake makes you forget all that?"

"I don't get the luxury of caring about him anymore, Sasha. He's Ishani Singh's son. In case you've forgotten, Amari almost died because of her. Worse than died, in fact. My parents did die because of her. I would appreciate it if you and Amari and-," And Augustus-. I sigh, "would stop bringing him up every five minutes. I'm stuck with Ryan for a year regardless. Besides... I don't think I'm getting out of this alive, Sasha. If I really care about Tarak, I'm not going to make him fail to save me. I'm not going to let him watch me die."

A million expressions flash over Sasha's face in a split second. She settles on pained. Jaw tight, eyes watering, eyebrows drawn low. "Sometimes having to watch someone you love die is better. At least you're with them at the end. Even failing means you get the chance to try." She steps to me and settles a hand on my chest. "Amari's going to die," she whispers. "And there's nothing I can do about it. But at least I'm here. At least I get to be with her every second until she's gone. I'm sure Tarak would appreciate the same courtesy."

With that, she slips out of the bathroom.

I'd planned on leaving too, but I slip to the sinks and bow my head over one. I hated how sure she sounded about Amari's fate. Even Hunters can live long lives if they get safe jobs. If Amari does her duty for long enough, she could get a cushy job somewhere less dangerous. But Sasha talked like that wouldn't change anything. Like Amari was going to die no matter what.

Is it because of me? Am I dragging her down? Am I going to get her killed?

Am I going to get everyone I love killed?

Am I just like my parents?