Page 116 of Rite of Unity

I glanced at Dathan.Five years without a son, and now he was proposing a law that would let him walk away from his wife for it.Faithless.The contempt came easily.

“No.”Dathan stood.

My focus was stolen by the drone’s footage as it panned over what must be a thousand infected.An inhuman screech burst from a dense crowd, and a small, gnarled arm flew from the pile.My stomach churned as memories of Joe Greene surfaced.

I’d seen it before, the way the fully grown attacked the smaller defenseless infected.But usually, only the scent of blood whipped them into a frenzy.

The men continued to argue, but my thoughts drifted to Friday’s ball.To the fragile woman so afraid of heights, she wouldn’t even peek through the telescope—her one opportunity to see what was left of the ravaged world beyond the wall.

The accusation in her eyes when she asked me to send her home immediately rather than wait still lingered like an old wound that hadn’t healed.

I had planned to confront her, to demand answers.Why was that snake the person she thought of when she was alone?I’d seen them dance together.Perhaps that should have been enough to send her home, but the moment she’d said the words aloud, I knew it was the last thing I wanted.

“Elias, do you concur?”

I glanced at Felix, then around the room at all the expectant faces.“Yes.”

He dipped his chin.“The vote carries.Dathan, you have your approval.”

I swallowed.I should have paid attention.

Around the room, men stood.

Gideon Charles held out his hand.“Good to see you again.”

I took it.“I had thought it would be sooner.”

His lips turned down the way his sons did whenever I said something he didn’t like.Good.

“There was no need.”He released my hand, ushering me toward the door.“The work doesn’t truly begin until Trial Nine.”

I frowned as we exited, glancing over my shoulder at Dathan.He tapped furiously on his tablet, still seated.

In the car, I pulled out my device.Now that Gideon was here, had Charles returned to Michigan City?I’d meant to visit him sooner, to demand answers about Maryn’s video edits.But with everything else, the facility, the growing number of infected outside our walls, it almost seemed trivial.

But two things still sat heavily in my mind.As head of Centrum surveillance, Charles would know more about the facility.And… Maryn.I wanted answers, and he was the only person who could give them.

I looked up.Across from me, Micah stared out the window, his hand resting casually on the gun at his hip.

“I’m going to make a stop at Charles Media headquarters.”

He nodded.

I watched him for a moment.“You’ve been unusually quiet these past few days.”

His gaze slid to me, and I saw it then, the red rimming his eyes.

“What’s happened?”

He shook his head, glancing down.

I tapped my tablet screen, and the car pulled to a stop.“Micah?”

His fingers curled around the handle of his gun, and I stiffened.Micah had been by my side nearly every day since I was nine.Never once had I mistrusted him.Now, the hairs on the back of my neck stood at attention.

His grip relaxed.“It’s nothing.A family matter.”

His gaze returned to the view outside the window.