Emma's lucky streak was over the second afternoon following Sebastian's approval of her freedom. Her brother was not happy with her ability to run rampant in the camp, but she wasn't dumb. She never planned to leave the half that belonged to the Ravens and the Riot, but not because she was afraid. She simply had nothing to gain by venturing towards the other side, but far too much to lose.

However, Megan eventually came to her rivals' side, seeking negotiations with Sebastian. That was her cover, to say the least. Her true purpose in coming to visit her enemies was known only to her, and even then, she may not have fully known. Motives can be hazy, and sometimes you just walk where your feet carry you. How else had they all come to the Grove in the first place?

Megan's eyes landed on a long, dark ponytail she recognized in a heartbeat. Her eyes turned to slits, a fierce fire boiling in her blood, as she chased the girl. Her hand wrapped around her hair-tie, and she pulled the girl down to the gravel path, moving so that she stood on top of her. But Emma Gail Harlem did not miss a beat. Pulling herself out from beneath her attacker's legs, she was able to administer a swift kick behind her kneecap, giving her the slightest advantage.

The girls wrestled for a while, the person in power changing by the moment, drawing a nearby crowd. The bystanders were Peregrin, yet none of them moved to assist their fighting friend. Emma did not seem to need help, and to see her battle skills in action was strangely beautiful. Everyone had heard that she was a warrior, that her abilities in combat were outstanding, but she fought her battles in the wild, in places where no onlookers would see.

Eventually, Emma had pinned the Condor onto the ground, blood covering both of their faces. Megan glared up at her, but she did not move. Her body had given out, the fight stealing her of the remainder of her strength. But Emma? Oh, Emma was just getting started. She drew the knife out of her back pocket, stroking it gently. One slash, she thought, One slash and she'll be gone. It could be so simple, so fast.

Standing over her, the memories began to replay through her head. She was fifteen again, still in high school, still weak, coming across the evidence that revealed what had happened in her bed the night of her brother's party. She was watching him cry as he learned the truth about his two best friends. She was watching him vomit the evening Megan came forward and told the world about how Sebastian was a liar, how she would never cheat on him, going so far to accuse him of cheating on her. She was holding her brother's hand, letting it clench around hers as Mai was taken away to the Condor's camp, feeling his racing pulse as he feared that the monster in Megan would destroy another person that he loved. She was sitting in the Condor's cell herself, bound and bloodied and overwhelmed with more pain than she had ever felt in her life. She was standing shirtless for Mason, providing him with whatever he could want in hopes that he might save her sorry ass from destruction. She was examining her branded arm for the very first time, rubbing the scars with her dirty fingers.

She looked down at the number on her wrist, and began to adjust her grip over the knife. The camp was still, everyone frozen in the somber moment. Sebastian was dumbfounded. The Emma he saw before him now was nothing but a stranger. The Emma he knew did not contain this violence, but the Emma he knew had died long ago. This Emma Gail Harlem was a wildfire, a stack of tinder only beginning to burn. He wanted to save the underbrush from her flames, save her forest from a self-imposed destruction, but the scars on her skin marked a fence of barbed wire. He could never get through to her.

But Emma looked up, and she turned her head slightly, as if contemplating her next step. She had won, and now, with one quick movement, she could win forever. But at the last moment possible, she saw Natalia. Natalia, whose eyes were filled with fear and disgust, who did not recognize the murderer in front of her. They had scrimmaged in this very spot, but back then, it was just a game. This time around, Emma was on the verge of the greatest theft imaginable. Was this the girl she'd grown to know? Could this be the same voice who advocated that the two groups of strangers in Peregrin learn to work together?

Emma saw the shock in her friend's eyes, and it struck all the disappointment she'd been storing up for years. She'd let them all down, even Natalia. When had she become so wrong? When had all the good left inside of her dried up and blown into the wind?

For a moment, the rage that flooded her veins seemed to dissipate, and she was left with a cold emptiness. She lifted her knife, placing it back into her sheath, and simply turned away. She did not help Megan to stand, and instead left the battered girl on the ground, very much alive. Too much alive, as they would all soon come to realize. Perhaps she should have killed her right then and there; perhaps the lives of the innocent would be saved. But who in this forsaken world could be called innocent?

Emma soon found herself in the small clearing where she had spoken to Mason the previous morning. He had asked her to become a murderer, pointed out that that was what she already was, but for some reason, she'd refused. Could it be that one rose petal of her humanity had yet to fall? She pondered on that heavily, and came to one conclusion: all that was good inside her must have disappeared. It was not that she feared killing Harper, or that she even feared killing Megan. She simply did not want to disappoint the people who still saw her suitable for love. She could not understand why Sebastian thought she was worth his affection, or why Natalia thought she was worth her time. She was a ticking time bomb, and eventually, she would snap. Emma could not fathom why her brother and friends would put themselves in the path of her destruction.

"What happened out there?" asked a voice, coming up behind her. It was Natalia. Emma could recognize her sound anywhere.

"You saw it for yourself," she muttered in response, "You think I'm a monster now."

"Maybe if you'd killed her," Natalia shrugged, moving forward so that the two girls stood side by side, "Which you didn't."

"I wish I did," Emma simply sighed.

"No, you don't," the other girl smiled softly, "You act on instinct, Emma. You listen to your gut, and it told you that taking her life was the wrong thing to do."

"I saw you close your eyes," she said, her voice monotonous and flat, "You were disgusted."

"Because a killer isn't who you are, Em," Natalia grabbed her hand, clutching it supportively.

Emma simply shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut for just a moment, as if to block out all the world around them. "Yes, it is," she said, "You barely know me, Tali."

"Tell me your story then," Natalia prompted, "You looked at your scars, and then you looked at your knife. If I don't know you, then introduce me."

So Emma took a deep breath and began to speak. She started with Cora's arrival into the camp, how she had deceived Ellie into becoming the Condor's prisoner. She told how Mai had arrived, and carried in a hurricane to their camp. How she had snuck out in the mayhem, been betrayed the slippery Adrian, and ended up in the cell as well. The way she'd stayed in the cell while Ellie was freed, however, she did not mention the negotiations involved. She brushed over the pain, the scars, the torture which she had endured, but included her manipulative moves towards Mason. She told her about the bounty hunters she had murdered in cold blood, how she had taken advantage of Lily's hospitality. The way she'd snuck into her camp to give Hayden a warning, and up until the moment she'd met Kamai underneath that eternal sunset.

And when she was finished, she barely had the moment to breathe before Natalia's lips were pressed against her own, and all the fiery teardrops were released unto the dying embers of the ground. They were kissing, yearning for each other's flames to intertwine and burn a hole in the forgotten fabric of the sky. The wave of adrenaline that pulsed through Emma's body was foreign. She could not remember the names of all the people she had kissed, she had forgotten the way they felt. In this moment, all she could feel was Natalia, all she wanted was Natalia.

"You're not a monster, Emma," Natalia whispered, holding her close, as if to protect her from the wild winds swarming in her mind.

"You're wrong," she confided, "All of you are wrong about me."

"Look at me," Natalia pleaded, lifting Emma's chin slightly, "Everything inside of you is good. You're just trying to do what's right, but there are no easy answers anymore. Every move you've made has been for good intentions."

"And so is the road to Hell," she muttered, quoting the old saying.

"Emma Harlem, you are good."

"I wanted to kill her," Emma looked away, "I would have done it." Natalia cooed, pulling the other girl in, comforting her racing heart, and a new sense of clarity overcame her. Emma Gail Harlem did not deserve Natalia Sanchez, or Sebastian, or Hayden or Kamai or any of them at all. She would not be the cause of their demise. She had brought them to Peregrin, and her mere existence had brought the Condors and the City. Well, now it was time she saved her friends again. Moving her right arm away from Natalia's shoulder, she rubbed the handle of her blade. It was time she retrieve the peace.

------

Megan pressed the wet washcloth up to her forehead, wiping away the drying blood. Never had she been so humiliated. It was even worse than the moment she discovered Emma was still alive; this time she'd been beat again.

"Fool me twice, shame on me," she muttered, looking up as a duo approached her.

"What happened out there?" Harper asked, taking a seat beside her. Next to Harper was Phoenix, her twin brother.

"That bitch Emma," she frowned, "She started attacking me unrelentlessly. I swear, I didn't do anything wrong this time."

"Revenge, probably," Phoenix added, although neither girl acknowledged him, "I mean, you did try to kill her."

"Harper, she's dangerous," Megan declared, "She will burn this entire camp down to ashes if we don't act soon. She'll destroy everything we've accomplished."

Harper nodded, gulping as she saw the scratches on her friend's face. She had yet to see this violent Emma Harlem, or at least, she was unable to recognize her. Harper expected her to be a giant, covered in blood and screaming bloody murder at all moments. She did not believe this conniving killer could be someone so small, so put-together, or at least who appeared to be whole. "You want to kill her, don't you?"

"Precisely," Megan hissed, and Harper began to nod.

Phoenix, however, stepped in. As he was closer with Cameron than either of the two girls, he was consequently closer with the Riot. He knew exactly who Emma was, and he saw her as a human being. Megan's antagonizing descriptions did not affect his view.

"We can't kill her," he protested, "But we can use her to force Sebastian's hand."

"What are you suggesting?" Harper turned to her brother, hoping he had some sort of plan in mind. Although her image of Emma may have been skewed, she did not want to call herself a murderer. Perhaps there was another option.

"We use her as blackmail," he declared, "Sebastian will hand over his power as ransom. Nobody dies." Harper nodded, approving of this scheme, and Megan slowly came to agree as well. And so the strategy was set, and would all be underway by the following nightfall.