I glance at my wrist again.
Glance around the hall.
The walls aren’t gray, like I originally thought. It turns out they’re a dull white. Heavy shadows make them appear darker than they are—and in fact, make this entire floor appear darker. The overhead lights are unusual honeycomb clusters arranged along both the walls and ceilings. The oddly shaped lights scatter illumination, casting oblong hexagons in all directions, plunging some walls into complete darkness. I take a cautious step forward, peering more closely at a rectangle of blackness I’d previously ignored.
It’s a hallway, I realize, cast entirely in shadow.
I feel a sudden compulsion to explore its depths, and I have to physically stop myself from stepping forward. My duty is here, at this door. It’s not my business to explore or ask questions unless I’ve been explicitly asked to explore or ask questions.
My eyelids flutter.
Heat presses down on me, flames like fingers digging into my mind. Heat travels down my spine, wraps around my tailbone. And then shoots upward, fast and strong, forcing my eyes open. I’m breathing hard, spinning around.
Confused.
Suddenly, it makes perfect sense that I should explore the darkened hallway. Suddenly there seems no need at all to question my motives or any possible consequences for my actions.
But I’ve only taken a single step into the darkness when I’m pushed aggressively back. A girl’s face peers out at me.
“Did you need something?” she says.
I throw up my hands, then I hesitate. I might not be authorized to hurt this person.
She steps forward. She’s wearing civilian clothes, but doesn’t appear to be armed. I wait for her to speak, and she doesn’t.
“Who are you?” I demand. “Who gave you the authority to be down here?”
“I am Valentina Castillo. I have authority everywhere.”
I drop my hands.
Valentina Castillo is the daughter of the supreme commander of South America, Santiago Castillo. I don’t know what Valentina is supposed to look like, so this girl might be an impostor. Then again, if I take a risk and I’m wrong— I could be executed.
I peer around her and see nothing but blackness. My curiosity—and unease—is growing by the minute.
I glance at my wrist. Still no summons.
“Who are you?” she says.
“I am Juliette Ferrars. I am a supreme soldier for our North American commander. Let me pass.”
Valentina stares at me, her eyes scanning me from head to toe.
I hear a dull click, like the sound of something opening, and I spin around, looking for the source of the sound. There’s no one.
“You have unlocked your message, Juliette Ferrars.”
“What message?”
“Juliette? Juliette.”
Valentina’s voice changes. She suddenly sounds like she’s scared and breathless, like she’s on the move. Her voice echoes. I hear the sounds of footsteps pounding the floor, but they seem far away, like she’s not the only one running.
“Viste, there wasn’t much time,” she says, her Spanish accent getting thicker. “This was the best I could do. I have a plan, but no sé si será posible. Este mensaje es en caso de emergencia.
“They took Lena and Nicolás down in this direction,” she says, pointing toward the darkness. “I’m on my way to try and find them. But if I can’t—”
Her voice begins to fade. The light illuminating her face begins to glitch, almost like she’s disappearing.
“Wait—” I say, reaching out. “Where are you—”
My hand moves straight through her and I gasp. She has no form. Her face is an illusion.
A hologram.
“I’m sorry,” she says, her voice beginning to warp. “I’m sorry. This was the best I could do.”
Once her form evaporates completely, I push into the darkness, heart pounding. I don’t understand what’s happening, but if the daughter of the supreme commander of South America is in trouble, I have a duty to find her and protect her.
I know that my loyalty is to Anderson, but that strange, familiar heat is still pressing against the inside of my mind, quieting the impulse telling me to turn around. I find I’m grateful for it. I realize, distantly, that my mind is a strange mess of contradictions, but I don’t have more than a moment to dwell on it.
This hall is far too dark for easy access, but I’d observed earlier that what I once thought were decorative grooves in the walls were actually inset doors, so here, instead of relying on my eyes, I use my hands.