Clementine:
"What are you up to now," I whispered, more to steady myself than to call her.
I had been sitting silently, watching Oriana with my mates, and everything was suddenly, painfully clear.
I wasn't sure if that clarity made me feel better or worse.
It only reminded me how many times they had tried to explain themselves, and how I had refused to see it.
Guilt clawed its way up my chest.
Ian was nowhere to be found.
After briefing both the White Squad and my own on the plan to kill the Whisperer, everyone had gone to rest.
Everyone except me.
I couldn't rest. Not while Oriana was still toying with them.
When she led them upstairs, I felt something twist inside me.
Exhausted but driven, I followed. I was halfway up the stairs in complete darkness when I heard her voice.
"Come on, touch me here."
The sound of it made my skin crawl.
"Okay, wait– let me take off all my clothes. See? Then you'll feel it."
