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Commander Bartok nodded once, then left the room, Matthe on her heels.
    "We have no choice but to leave." Andessa grabbed her pack. She rummaged through it. "There's enough supplies here for a few days at the most. We need to get moving, find shelter and food.”
    Leila found her pack and tossed Torsten's to him. He caught it, slipping the straps over his back. "I guess we leave, then?”
    “Torsten, if Commander Bartok believes the Key exists, then with your knowledge, we’ll find it. I know we will.” Leila smiled, then an arm around Mellok’s waist.
    They filed out of the room, Torsten bringing up the rear. They filled the lift, pushing the button to take them to the bottom level of the tower. In moments, they'd be among the grounders, a place Torsten didn't think he'd ever see again after his parents died.
 

Chapter Seven
     
     
    "What do you think?" Renata grabbed Rell's shoulders and guided her to a mirror.
    The girl staring back at Rell was a stranger. Not just because Renata had changed her appearance, but because Rell had never seen her reflection before. Nor had she ever worn clothing accentuating every curve. Rell was embarrassed. Horrified, even.
    A tentative hand reached up for her hair. Her long braid had once been dirty brown. Shorn to her chin in blunt chunks, her hair now resembled the mop she'd toiled with only a few days ago, cleaning the floor of every last speck of dirt. Except instead of dingy white, her hair was shocking magenta.
    Rell turned away in disgust. She resembled everything she'd been taught to despise.
    Conspicuous. Brazen. Feminine.
    "I can't go out there like this."
    Renata tossed a scarf over the mirror. "This is a common reaction. Don't worry. You'll get over it soon enough. Once you see what the world is really like, you'll realize how you look now is completely normal. No one will look at you twice. If you walked out this door dressed as you were when you arrived at my hole in the wall…"
    Rell could see only the reflection of her hip now. Sheathed in polished black leather, her hips took on new definition as she jutted to one side. "This is what normal people look like?"
    Renata laughed. "Have you looked at me?"
    Rell studied the woman before her. Ears pierced eight times in each lobe. Cobalt hair pulled into countless braids. Clothing so tight, Rell had to wonder how Renata could breathe. If this was how women dressed, then Rell resigned herself to it. To complete the quest she'd been given, she needed to blend in. She had to convince the grounders she belonged.
    "Are you considered beautiful?" Rell asked.
    A blush crept over Renata's cheeks. "Some have said so. I know attraction isn't something we spoke of underground, but here, it matters more than you can imagine. Here, we choose lovers. Partners. Life mates. Attraction is a big part of it."
    "Where is your life mate?" Rell looked around the cottage for the first time. There was only one bed. One pair of shoes by the door. A small wardrobe on the opposite side of the room.
    "I don't have one. Yet." Renata wrung her hands. It was clear she was growing uncomfortable with Rell's questioning. "There is one man I've been seeing..."
    "It's okay. I don't need to know more. I'm sorry. All of this is so foreign." Rell reached for a curved red object sitting on a table. "Like this. I don't even know what this is."
    Renata relaxed. "It's an apple. You eat it. I know it’s very different than the tubers and bread you’re used to underground. You’ll like it. Try it."
    Rell brought the apple to her mouth, surprised by the tangy scent coming from the grounder's fruit. Sinking her teeth into the hard skin, she was startled by a squirt of sticky juice, and even more astonished by how much she liked the sweet taste. "This is good." Rell chewed through a smile.
    Renata laughed again. "Watching you reminds me so much of myself. Sometimes, when others are brought through the tunnels, they are ready to leave and experience the new world. You