Now we're in the ring
And we're coming for blood
— Glory And Gore, Lorde
➵
"Missed me?" Castor asked, his hand still held out for her.
She ignored it and stood up herself, albeit a little shakily, and leaned against the wall. She stared at him, a part of her past she thought she'd never see again. The feeling was bittersweet - a bit of nostalgia at seeing an old friend, and dread at the memories of Omega that manifested in her mind at his sudden appearance. "What are you doing here?"
Castor raised an eyebrow. "I'd like to ask you the same thing."
"I'm-" Ari hesitated, all too aware of his black uniform. She narrowed her eyes. "Are you working for Omega?"
His grin grew. "Well, yes, and no."
"What the hell are you talking about?" she asked.
He took a breath. "I'm a spy at Omega. They think I'm working for them, but I'm really just there to gather information, report suspicious activity." He paused. "And let me tell you, that place is a magnet for suspicious activity."
Ari shook her head. "Then why were you with these men? And who are you reporting to? And-"
He held up a hand. "Whoa, whoa, slow down. Too many questions." He eyed her worriedly. "And maybe you should sit down or something. You're turning green."
"I'm fine," Ari replied, swatting his hands away. But even as she said it, she felt a wave of nausea rising up her throat. Before she could stop herself, she was bent over, hands clutching the wall as she retched. When she was done, she straightened and wiped her mouth across her sleeve, nose scrunching at the sickly scent. She felt Castor hovering over her, concerned, but pushed away from the wall, desperate to get away from the smell.
"God," she groaned, plopping down on to the ground, ignoring the water leaking into her clothes. "It would have been a thousand times better if they'd just broken my leg or something."
Castor rolled his eyes. "You're being dramatic." He smiled down at her. "And you haven't changed a bit."
Ari glared at him, affronted. "What's that supposed to mean?" she asked, but all he did was give her an amused smile, moving to the fallen men that were lying a few feet away from her. One of them - the one who Castor had shocked with the device - shifted and groaned. Castor pulled out a rope from his pocket and tied the man's hand and feet together. He did the same to the rest of the men, dragging their bodies and lining them up beside each other.
Ari watched him as he worked, a hand to her chin, unsure if he could be trusted. Sure, he'd been an old friend of hers, but people changed, and they lied, and you could never really, truly know who someone was. Ari had learned that the hard way.
"You still haven't answered my questions," Ari told him. He tugged on a rope, checking to see if the bounds were tight enough, and turned to her.
He sighed. "Okay, let me start from the top. You remember the breakout from Omega, right?"
Ari nodded. Of course she did. She'd been a part of it, in fact. It had been about a year ago, but she remembered it as thought it had happened yesterday. Dozens of assassins had fled Omega together; an unexpected breach in security was all it had taken for chaos to ensue. She'd taken the chance when she'd gotten it, and escaped along with many of the others. It had only been when she was in the midst of it, all the mayhem and pandemonium, that she had seen the desperation in the faces of everyone around her and realized she hadn't been the only one among them who had felt so trapped.
