Page 175 of Rite of Unity

She blinked once.Twice.“Vera’s always losing buttons.”

We stared at one another, her lids growing heavier by the moment.

I nodded.

“Get some rest.I’ll be here when you wake.”

Her eyes drifted closed.

She was asleep before I’d settled back in the chair.

***

When Maryn was cleared to go home, I helped her into my car, the chaperone silent in the back seat, and drove her to the Rite house.She was quiet the whole way.

In her room, she sat on the edge of her bed, moving carefully, one hand pressed to the side of her head.

I set the two pills the nurse had given me on the table beside her tablet.

“Take those when you start to feel the pain.Your meds will wear off before nightfall.”

She looked up at me, vulnerable in a way she never had been before.

“Thank you,” she said.“For staying.”

I smiled, touching her cheek gently.“I’ll be back to check on you tonight.”

I left before she could say anything else.

Chapter 44

Elias

Vera’smotheransweredthedoor of a home in the Upper-Middle.Once, they’d owned one of the largest estates in the Center, but when their only son died—caught in a rebel bombing—their standing had collapsed.

“Mr.Hale.Please, come in.”

I followed, tucking my hands into my pockets.“I won’t take up too much of your time.I only need to speak with Vera a moment.”

She led me to a sitting room and disappeared.I heard her voice somewhere above me, low and urgent.A door opened and closed.

Vera stepped into the room, her expression giving nothing away.She sat across from me, folding her hands in her lap.

“Mr.Hale.”

“Were you in Maryn’s room Friday?”I asked, not bothering with niceties.I had another stop to make today.

She met my eyes.“Yes.”

I reached into my jacket and set the button on the table between us.

She looked at it.Picked it up.Turned it over once.

“I’ve been looking for that.”She slid it into her pocket.

I watched her.

She said nothing else.