The words hung in the air like smoke, searing straight into her lungs, ready to set off an alarm.

  “...You killed her.”

  Lucia’s breath caught as the words echoed in her mind. Her eyes rimmed with red, tears brimming. V’s accusation hit her hard.

  Her hands trembled as images bled through the cracks she’d so carefully sealed. The metallic smell. Blood on tile, brain matter sprayed on wall.

  Dizziness kicked in, swelling at the edges, but fury steadied her feet, keeping her focused on her sister’s crude face.

  “You need to leave!” The words tore from her throat, harsh and desperate. She pressed her palm against her forehead, sweat prickling at her scalp.

  V opened her mouth ready to snap back, but paused.

  Lucia was shaking. Pupils blown wide. Jaw unhinged. Her whole face unable to keep up with itself.

  For the first time, V’s smirk faltered. She had wanted to rattle Lucia, yes, but not…this.

  Lucia's breathing was getting shallow again. And V remembered what happened last time.

  V had pushed too hard, too fast. But backing down now would only make Lucia more suspicious. So V did what she always did. Double down and redirect.

  “I’m not leaving until I finish what I came here for,” V said, steadying her voice into false calm.

  “I don’t care,” Lucia retorted, turning away. Her chest began to ache with every beat. “You need to leave now or I will complain—”

  “Oh, that’s cute,” V said, casually lifting the binoculars again. She peered out to the far end, past the convent barrier towards East, as if nothing had happened.

  “You think I won’t complain? I have enough to have you expelled.”

  “And the moment you do,” V said without flinching, “I will tell them you are my blood sister, and a rebel sympathizer. Or even better—” her smirk widened, “ —a rebel in disguise.”

  Lucia let out a low, exasperated grunt. V glanced back to note the tremor in her sister’s body had eased.

  “But,” V added, turning back to the view, focusing her lenses, “There’s probably a way to expedite my exit. As soon as I get done with the assignment, I’ll be gone. You won’t even notice I was here.”

  Lucia opened her mouth, then paused, and shut it. Her heart had slowed, but her mind was still racing.

  “You help me, and I’m out of your life. You don’t help me, fine. I’ll do it alone. But if you try to stop me?” V turned to her with the same casual intensity. “I will drag you down with me.”

  Lucia’s voice cracked. “Are you blackmailing me?”

  V shrugged, nonchalant. “I’m giving you options, darling. Choose wisely.”

  Lucia stared at her sister, tunic twisted in white-knuckled fists. Ten years. Ten years of building a life here, and V could destroy it all with a few words to the right person. The injustice of it burned in Lucia’s throat.

  “You’re exactly the same,” Lucia whispered. “Still destroying everything you—”

  V's hand shot up, cutting her off mid-sentence. This wasn't about their argument anymore. V's entire posture had shifted, shoulders tense, head cocked like a dog catching a scent.

  “What?” Lucia whispered, following V’s gaze to the dark horizon.

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  V didn’t answer. She reached into her pocket, pulled out a small metal object, and lobbed it at Lucia.

  Lucia fumbled, then caught it. A pocket watch. An analog pocket watch.

  “I thought you said you didn’t bring anything.”

  V didn’t look at her. “It shows you’ve never spent any time in the convent tool shop. It's a goldmine.” Then her voice dropped. “Time.”

  Lucia blinked. “What?”

  “Time!” V barked, louder now.

  Lucia checked the watch. “Twelve past twelve—”

  And then she saw it. A flicker in the dark. A pin of light on the desert horizon, faint like a single star that had wandered too close.

  “Did you see that?” she whispered.

  V raised her hand for silence, shutting Lucia off. Another blink followed. Then another. Short bursts. Then none.

  A long pause, before it started again. This time, one of V’s index fingers carried a steady rhythm while the other followed the pattern.

  The light repeated the sequence twice more, then vanished into darkness.

  V let out a breath, then whispered, “Perfect.”

  “Perfect, how? What was that—” Before Lucia could finish, V turned, tossed the binoculars aside.

  “That was my signal to proceed as planned,” she said lightly. Her hands tightened on Lucia’s shoulders, a smile tugging at her mouth. “Which means you’re running out of time to decide. Help me, and you’ll know everything. Refuse, and you’ll find out too late.”

  Lucia stiffened. “No. I will not help you.”

  V scoffed. “Great. I don’t need it. I never did anyway.”

  “Then why are you asking?” Lucia shot back, arms crossed, brow cocked.

  V chuckled. “If I could’ve brought the best of my people in here, I would have. But it’s just me…and you.” Her gaze dipped, for a moment V slipped into her younger self, the same girl who used to beg Lucia to play along with her games. Lucia was never so good at refusing her sister then. Always somehow siding with her, always covering for her.

  V leaned in then added, “But if you change your mind, you have till morning. Think it over—”

  Her face changed mid-sentence, that lazy smirk drained. Her eyes darted past Lucia.

  In a heartbeat, V’s hands gripped the back of Lucia’s head, forcing her low, knees knocking against the railing.

  “What are you—”

  “Quiet,” V breathed, crushing them against the bell tower wall.

  Lucia squirmed but V had her eyes dead set on the outside, peeking through the railing with a hand clamped over Lucia’s mouth, this time gently.

  Lucia held her breath, barely daring to breathe, following V’s orders.

  Then, she saw it too.

  From the edge of the courtyard, a shadow stretched and shrank, moving between pools of candlelight as it rounded the building.

  Through the arches came Brother Roman, hands in his pockets and head up and observing. He walked, tall, deliberate like he owned the night. His steps slow but something was wrong. His usual easy swagger was gone.

  V’s grip on Lucia tightened ever so slightly. They both held their breath as Roman paused directly below them, head tilted as if listening. For a moment. Lucia thought he might look up.

  Instead, he continued to the senior nuns’ quarters, where he stopped abruptly and gave two soft knocks.

  The door immediately opened, as if someone had been waiting. Candlelight spilled out. A silhouette of a nun emerged.

  “Brother Roman,” said the sister.

  Roman bowed with an easy smile, “Sister Claudia.”

  Lucia stilled, unease knotting her face. This late? A Brother meeting the assistant head nun? That too, alone in the dark?

  V glanced at Lucia. “What is it?” she whispered.

  Lucia shook her head, thoughts spiraling. Maybe Sister Claudia summoned him. Maybe Roman was here to file a complaint about V. Or maybe, considering Roman worked for the high priest, this had something to do with Sister Teresa, who hadn’t turned up in days.

  “I don’t know.” Lucia murmured.

  Sister Claudia turned letting Roman in. They fell into a whisper. For a split second, Lucia swore she saw a vial glint in Claudia’s hand, the same sleeping draft she’d been hounding the infirmary nun for days ago. Sister Teresa’s draft?

  Unease settled in her chest as the courtyard fell into darkness, Roman disappearing inside.

  “Huh,” V finally whispered. “I suppose we’re not the only ones with secrets.”

  Lucia’s mind churned. She certainly wasn’t.

  A Brother meeting the assistant head nun in the dead of night. V’s signal pulsing from the desert. Her own most treasured secret, outed by the one person who wasn’t supposed to know it.

  By morning, she would have to decide. Which secrets to keep. Which to betray. And which would destroy her either way.

  Out beyond the convent walls, towards West, in the gutted veins of the mega cluster, a lone light flickered once. Then dark.