The elite officer barracks were at the end of the bunker corridor, past the medical wing where Aldous lay in a bed, staring at a ceiling that offered no answers.
The door was made of steel. A placard on the wall read, "Officer Quarters, Authorized Personnel Only." Beneath it, someone had scratched "Twins Only" into the paint with the tip of a knife.
Holden opened the door without knocking.
The room was small, containing two cots, two weapon racks, and two footlockers. The walls were bare except for a single mounted mirror that had been cracked down the middle and never replaced.
Cora and Sera were inside.
Cora sat on the left cot with a whetstone in one hand and a short sword across her knee. On the right cot, Sera had disassembled her own short sword. The blade was separated from the hilt, the guard had been removed, and each piece lay in a neat row across a dark cloth. She cleaned the components with an oil rag, her movements practiced from years of repetition.
