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it. Since Ash and the other cadets hadn’t been put in the psyche-mask yet, he’d ordered her out into the night. She remained there for hours, long after a blizzard covered the compound in ice. The weather had turned early. He hadn’t realized it until, half-frozen, she’d shuddered her way into his office, not repentant per se , but much less blatantly insolent. He’d wrapped his arms around her, warming her with his body heat while he called for a medic. After that her protests became smaller, more measured. From that point on, she’d pulled back her hair, but she’d twisted only that small, almost-hidden portion of it into a braid.
    He let that braid slide through his fingers now as he rocked her, and finally, her eyes fluttered open.
    “Hey,” he said, going still.
    She swallowed, focused on him, and swallowed again. “I’m so fucked, Rip.”
    “Tell me how to help.” He brushed hair damp with sweat from her forehead, then let his fingers trail down her cheek, smooth except for a red welt beneath her right eye, probably from when she hit the table. She had a beauty mark to the left of her mouth. Rykus had always been tempted to run his thumb over it—he thought it too strategically placed to be real—but he wouldn’t let himself touch it now. It seemed… inappropriate.
    “Just… go away.” Ash’s tone was halfway between a plea and an order.
    “That’s how you want me to help?” He slid his hand down her arm.
    She nodded.
    He wanted to ask again if she had killed her teammates, but he hated using compulsion, hated it so much he’d left the anomaly program because of it. And what if she seized again? He didn’t want to hurt her.
    Searching her eyes, he looked for more answers. This close, he could see a touch of hazel in the green irises. She seemed to be focusing better. Color was returning to her cheeks too, but she looked vulnerable without her signature half smile.
    The clank of the door unlocking drew his attention. It slid open and Katie entered the cell. She set her med-sack on the data-table. When she lifted an eyebrow his direction, Rykus became all too aware he was still holding Ash in his arms.
    “She had a seizure,” he explained, shifting Ash’s weight so he could get them both on their feet. He half carried her to the chair on the other side of the table, then took a step back and frowned. It wasn’t like Ash to let herself be helped with anything, not without some wisecrack or brazen remark. Even after the Dead Man’s Circuit through Caruth’s sunbaked mountains, she’d reserved enough breath to suggest skinny-dipping with him in the Liera River.
    Katie opened her med-sack, took out a bio-band, then bent down to strap the device to Ash’s ankle.
    “Chief medical specialist,” Ash said, her voice raspy. “I’m moving up in the world.”
    Katie straightened. “I’m Dr. Monick. I just arrived from Caruth.”
    Ash started what might have been a nod but cut it short. He saw something move through her eyes—a hint of fear maybe—then she dropped her gaze to the data-table. “I haven’t snapped, Doctor.”
    Ah, the institute. Anomalies would do anything to avoid being sent back there. That’s where the Coalition hooked them up to machines and brainwashed them into being loyal, and that’s where they would return if they lost their holds on reality. No anomaly wanted to become an experiment, but the whole KU knew the damage they could do if they snapped. The last time it had happened had been back before the loyalty training, and twenty-six people, mostly women and children, had been slaughtered on the shopping deck of a civilian tachyon capsule.
    A few days ago, Ash had inexplicably slaughtered her team.
    Rykus looked at his cadet, saw her staring off at nothing. He was supposed to cull the individuals who couldn’t take the mental pressure. Had he overlooked Ash’s signs of stress?
    Katie took out a tablet and stylus, then tapped on the screen. “Your vitals match