Morning brought tension.
The camp was different—alert, buzzing. Aria could feel it in the way people looked at them, how conversations stopped when they passed.
Something had changed.
Kael noticed too. "She found something on the chip."
"Or someone," Aria said grimly.
Mara summoned them before noon.
"The chip—" she held it between two fingers, "—mentions Subject A22. That's you, isn't it?"
Rhea froze. "How do you know?"
"Because A22 was listed as a failed purge. You weren't supposed to exist anymore."
Aria stepped forward. "She survived. That's all that matters."
Mara looked at her long and hard. "It matters to people who want her dead. And if they find out she's alive…"
"We'll be gone before that happens," Kael cut in.
"No, you won't," Mara said calmly. "Because I need leverage. And she just became mine."
Aria's hand twitched toward her weapon.
"Don't," Mara warned.
The tension snapped like a bowstring pulled too tight.
"You'll get your supplies," Mara said. "But Rhea stays. As collateral."
"No," Rhea whispered.
Kael stepped forward, jaw clenched.
Aria held up a hand. "We're not trading people."
"Then walk away," Mara said coldly. "But the deal ends here."