Hezekiah shuffled his cards in the same repetitive rotation. Irva lay unconscious on her bed. The cut was sealed by a healing card, but her eyes had yet to open.

  If I was a moment too slow, you may have gotten what you wanted. But there won’t be a next time.

  She would’ve died immediately if suicide wasn’t considered betraying him, so without realizing it, the best she did was give herself a fatal injury.

  It wasn’t his concern if she cut herself out of depression. He didn’t care. But allowing that could potentially lead her to bleeding out by accident.

  If she was thinking straight, she should’ve noticed that killing herself was impossible, but out of desperation she went for it anyway.

  Her act forced the servants to respond, but he refrained from explaining anything to them.

  A slight groan croaked from her. The skin around her eyes wrinkled before they opened.

  “That was quite a stunt you pulled. Are you really that depressed?”

  Irva caressed her neck; her finger glided across the card. A burn gravitated toward her throat, painless yet potent. Was it a phantom shock of pain, or a pool of anger—she didn’t know anymore.

  Her fingers trembled like they were freezing. When she saw her blood sprout like a hydrant, a consuming dread drowned her.

  “I’m still alive...?”

  The claws of death never felt so close; even the Custom Boundary felt like an illusion.

  “Is that something to be upset over?”

  Irva tried to rise up but discovered she couldn’t move her other arm. She tucked her lips, lacking the courage to ask why.

  “Anyone would be, in my position.”

  Half of the deck was flipped to the top. “Some aren’t as weak as you, let alone try to pull what you did.”

  Clouds restrained the heat of the sun, leaving the room in a cold grey hue. She watched his still expression, the cards shuffled the same way every time—no variation or difference. Cut in half, then the two converged again.

  “Do you ever plan on setting me free? Why are you so insistent on having me live?”

  “Is there any point in answering something that you already know the answer to? Once you decided to take my life, then I had the right to do whatever I want to you.”

  Irva balled a fist, her tone uneven. “This isn’t fair. You get to run free despite your sins, but I must remain bound. The organization stripped my identity, raised me to be a weapon, refused to divulge my past or anything about my parents. I’m not your enemy anymore!”

  Hezekiah’s hands froze, the cards in the midst of a ruffle shuffle. “I’m free?” He chuckled, reminded of his shackles from above.

  “Then what do you want to be, Irva? You have no one to miss, or anyone to go back to. Viraka believes you’re an Abna, and believe me, she won’t be keen on letting you loose in our dimension.”

  Irva lay in silence. Light taps sprinkled the window. Streaks of water descended down the glass, followed by distant growls in the clouds.

  “Before I was your slave, or Irva from Sunset Garden, I was someone else. That’s who I’m going to be, because out there, my parents are waiting for me.”

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  The rain grew heavier, its rhythmic taps signaling an incoming storm.

  He remembered that the X-lens doesn’t know anything about her, but that she’s supposedly dead. Urimah expected her to be an Abna, but how did he even find her?

  “So no more suicide attempts?”

  She clasped her neck, her throat pushing against the card as she swallowed. “As if you care.”

  Hezekiah resumed his ruffle shuffle. “If you’re that curious, then we don’t need to venture for that.”

  When Irva was about to ask what he meant, the door swung open.

  “It doesn’t hurt to make sure he’s not doing anything funny.” Falina walked through the door as she spoke behind her, closing it soon afterward.

  She stopped herself upon seeing Irva awake. “Never seen you look this shitty.”

  Hezekiah pulled back his urge to embrace her immediately. Ever since he discovered the truth, it was hard to tell how much he knew was actually her.

  “You could’ve seen me first. Are you avoiding me or something?” He set the deck aside.

  “Ugh, stop acting like a clingy girlfriend.” She pulled a chair from a nearby desk, turned it around, and sat on it like she owned the place. “Oh, mysteries. Not in my tamest dreams did I imagine we’d get to talk like this.”

  Hezekiah rested his leg on his thigh. He subtly glanced at Irva. “Yeah? Then you can imagine my surprise about you being a walking corpse.”

  “My heart still beats, you know? Can’t you see my healthy skin?”

  “Who am I, Falina?” Irva interrupted, gripping the blanket. “You know something about me, don’t you?”

  Falina watched her lean closer.

  “You were almost like a Director yourself. You can tell me now, right?”

  “Does this have anything to do with why you almost killed yourself?”

  “That was...” She glanced at Hezekiah, who nodded in return. “I was being weak over something dumb. I don’t feel like talking about it.”

  “If that’s your answer, then you’re more unstable than I thought.”

  Irva’s head sank a little. “I don’t want to hear that coming from you.”

  Falina smirked. “Yeah, whatever. Not sure what happened to you, but you were a lot more iron-willed than this.”

  “Can you just tell us what you came here for?” Hezekiah cut in.

  “And not a single ‘I missed you,’ fine. Then I want clarification. Irva, explain to me what your abilities are.”

  Irva was about to speak when Hezekiah stepped in.

  “She just got over a suicide attempt. Let her re—”

  “What is she, your child?” She rose and flipped the chair around. “I know you’re mentally unwell, Irva, but you’re in hot water right now, so being clear on this will help us both.”

  “Hot water...?” she whispered back.

  Falina folded her arms. “Just explain what you’re capable of.”

  “I... umm, not really sure myself.”

  Falina brow shifted. “My brother said you’re able to spread microscopic parasites in the air. Is that true?”

  Irva cautioned her words, but if she followed through with what Hezekiah had already discussed with her, all the blame could fall on her.

  “I think so... at least it feels like I can.”

  “Hundreds of people were affected, Irva.”

  “What?” Irva pursed her lips, heart ticking.

  “That’s how many people were killed by the parasites found in their bodies, as of today anyway. I thought my brother was full of BS at first, but it turns out they existed.”

  Hezekiah looked to step in, but Falina knew his character wasn’t really the supportive kind. Furthermore, she was aware that they had only known each other for a few days.

  “You think I did that on purpose?”

  Falina rose to her feet and approached her bedside. “Well, that is more plausible. Everyone either had cancer or a high fever. People lost their hands and bled to death. But worst of all, none of them found a way to leave. All were trapped as they wailed in agony.”

  Hezekiah bit his tongue. It was all to save her. But he couldn’t just outright say that.

  “I’ve heard of Abnas failing to control their powers upon awakening, but you, Irva, are an utter catastrophe. To be honest, it’s a lot safer for everyone if I bury you right now.”

  Irva instinctively wanted to deny all the claims, but the other side—her submissive obedience to the pill—flooded in. As if protecting Hezekiah was her sole purpose, and anything else wasn’t worth considering.

  “It was an accident...” She fought the tears from falling. “I never asked for any of this.”

  “So you take all the responsibility? And here I thought you’d only admit to part of it. You’re a brave girl.”

  “I didn’t realize Abnas could be that powerful, shit,” Hezekiah added. “Is it even safe for anyone to be here?”

  “As of now, she’s a mass serial killer. The higher-ups want her dead. But lucky you, Viraka is very lenient. As long as you choose to serve her and aid in raiding Sunset Garden’s main branch, then we’ll have an excuse for you to stay alive.”

  Pushing this on her was definitely the right choice, Hezekiah thought, but he couldn’t breathe just yet. Irva wasn’t capable of performing any of those things she admitted to, so when it became clear that she was a fraud, it wouldn’t take long where the finger would be pointed next.

  But there was something he was curious about, or specifically had to confirm.

  “It’s not a bad place to live, far better than the dorms in HQ. But does this mean that her Abna Energy is very easy to detect, given how powerful she is?” he asked.

  Falina turned toward her brother. “That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it? But I’ll go out on a limb here. Irva, you’re not an Abna, are you?”