I stayed in the church, while the Gagarin delivered the food to the camp. We watched the grainy feed as the parachutes dropped down to the streets of Polis. I still hated looking at what it had become. As predicted, Octavia wasn't happy. She smashed the radio in an attempt to silence the pre-recorded message Diyoza had sent. We would pick the defectors up at nightfall.

The church became chaotic as cots were loaded in. The building was going to be a temporary refugee shelter. Not that it was much of a shelter, I was sure they'd all be given shock collars like Murphy and Raven's. I wanted to ask about them, but I couldn't risk people looking twice at my story.

So instead I went along with it, and I took in as much as I could. It was McCreary who clued me in to my friends' whereabouts. Murphy had escaped, and was hiding in the woods somewhere. The others were nowhere to be seen, which I hoped meant they had made it to Polis in one piece.

Though he was Diyoza's second in command, it was clear he had no interest in her plans. If he were in charge, Polis would be nothing but ash. If the time ever came, it would be easy to push him over the edge. I made note of his followers, each of whom had a cross tattoo on their forehead.

When I returned with food for Kane and myself, I found Diyoza and McCreary arguing. Charmaine had placed herself in his line of fire, but she didn't look worried. In fact I'd never seen anyone look so calm. "Don't you want to win this war?" McCreary asked, jabbing his gun in her face.

"In war, the greatest victory is one that requires no battle," she said.

"Sun Tzu," I whispered, remembering all those nights I'd read The Art of War on the Ring. I practically had the entire thing committed to memory. And as I watched her, the way she commanded the room, it made me wonder if maybe I wasn't here to burn these people to the ground. Maybe I'd been wrong to throw off the title of peacemaker so quick.

OoOoO

Kane went without me to pick up the defectors, while I watched from the church. I was afraid to get too close to Polis and the people I'd left behind. Octavia's people shot down defectors as they rushed to the Gagarin. With every body that fell it felt like a knife to the heart. The girl I'd known would never kill innocent people, not like this.

Octavia had always been angry, but it had been righteous anger, as toxic and damning as it still was. In all my planning, when I imagined our future in the valley, Octavia was always with us. But the more I learned about the person she had become, the more I wondered if she would survive that long.

"Maia," Kane called from the doorway. He waved me over, and leaned close. "Echo is on that ship," he whispered. I bit my lip. "They'll be moving the prisoners here, but if you go back now, you might have a change to talk to her alone."

I nodded, and slipped past him outside. I weaved between the miners, making my way back to the ship as fast as I could without appearing suspicious. I hadn't seen Cal since this morning and I was sure he would want a report on Diyoza as soon as I was back. That didn't leave me much time to talk to Echo.

Luckily the defectors weren't hard to find. They only had one guard, Kenna. She eyed me suspiciously as I walked toward her. I pointed toward Echo. "Can I have a minute with her? We were friends."

"I heard you're not so popular with your old friends anymore," she said, with a smirk. "And if you keep sharing information with Diyoza, you won't be popular with your new friends either."

I raised an eyebrow. "I don't see the Shadows making a play for the valley. Diyoza is the only one trying to get everyone here. If she wants help making peace, who am I to say no?"

Kenna hummed, but waved me on. "Be quick, the other guards will be back in a few minutes."

Echo was sitting on the ground covered in blood. "Are you okay?" I asked, kneeling down beside her.

She nodded once. "It's not mine."

"I can't stay long, but Kane told me you were here."

"Don't be mad," Echo said. "Octavia didn't give me much of a choice. She sent me here to–"

I waved my hand to cut her off. "It's better if we don't know each other's plans." She nodded, but her look said she was more than a little curious about my own plans. "I'm doing the best I can."

Echo raised an eyebrow. "You shouldn't have been at the bunker." I bit my lip. She was right, it was sloppy, but I couldn't stay away. "Everyone believed you were Diyoza's prisoner, but Miller and Octavia saw you."

"And Murphy?" I asked. "I heard he escaped."

She nodded. "He did, though he didn't make it back to Polis." I remembered the shock collars they'd been wearing. "He made sure everyone knew you were working with the prisoners."

"I sold it the best I could."

"Maybe a little too well," she reprimanded. "Octavia wants to exile you, provided Wonkru ever takes the valley. You were right, she reminded everyone that this wasn't the first time you'd betrayed your people." Echo shook her head like she couldn't believe Octavia would say something like that. "She said Azgeda ruined you, that you'd become too much like me."

I tilted my head. "I was under the impression Azgeda was a part of Wonkru. Do they not care if she shit talks them, or have things really devolved that much?"

Echo gave me a telling look. "It's bad."

I let out a long, slow breath. "When we're all here in this valley, things will be better. They have to be." She nodded, though she didn't look convinced. "And Bell? Does he believe everything she's saying about me?"

"Bellamy doesn't know what to think."

"Yo, space girl!" Kenna called. I grabbed Echo's arm and squeezed, then hopped up and joined the Shadow at the end of the hallway. "Get back to our side of the ship." She said it like an order, and I fought back an eyeroll. "And hey, if you know what's good for you, keep your distance from Diyoza's men. Especially McCreary. When things go south you don't want to be caught in the crossfire."

OoOoO

That night, I couldn't sleep. All I could think about were the Blakes. I was worried about Octavia and the person she was turning into. I was terrified that when I finally made it back to Bellamy he would think I'd also become someone else. And maybe I had, though it had started long before we came back to the ground.

Cal tossed and turned, his dreams clearly not the good kind. I rolled over to look at him. Though his eyes were closed, I could tell whatever he was dreaming was terrible. I'd been there before.

I hesitated for a moment before reaching out and shaking him lightly. He opened his eyes, and for just a moment I saw fear. Then it was gone, and he was rubbing sleep out of his eyes. "Shit, did I wake you up?"

I shook my head. "I couldn't sleep." I watched him for a moment. "Your dream…do you have nightmares a lot?" He glanced over. His look was answer enough. "Me too. I used to wake up screaming, but the Ring was so small, I made myself stop. Better not to let everyone know. Besides, they don't happen too often anymore."

Cal nodded like it was the same for him. "It was a long time ago, and I know that, but it doesn't feel that way."

"You were in cryosleep for most of that time," I reminded him, in an attempt to lighten the mood. He nodded, still not quite ready to slip back into his usual easygoing demeanor. "Even after years, it still feels like yesterday, right?"

"Yeah."

There were tears, suddenly, welling up in my eyes. I squeezed them shut to keep them from falling. "I know the feeling."

Cal slipped his arm around my shoulder, pulling me close so my head rested on his chest. And though neither of us offered any more explanation of what we'd been through, it felt like we'd let each other in.

OoOoO

When we made it to the training room the next morning, a handful of Shadows were already there. I spotted Kenna near the center of the room, trading punches with a man at least twice her size. There was another woman in the corner, resting her chin on a man's shoulder. I recognized him as one of the guys from yesterday.

Cal whistled to get their attention. Kenna took a step back, swiping her arm across her forehead to catch the sweat. It was obviously a trained gesture, something she'd taught herself to do. A subtle way of showing the knife on her arm, and saying "This is who I am." Over time it must have become second nature. There was no reason to show off here, in front of her people.

"You've all seen Maia around," Cal said, waving a hand toward me. I bit my lip, self-conscious all of a sudden. "I'm well aware Kenna has been shit talking me behind my back."

"Someone's gotta keep you humble, boss," she called from the other side of the room.

Cal shot her a look, before turning back to the others. "If you wanna fuck with Maia, you've got to go through me."

Kenna's sparring partner raised his hand, and she hit him upside the head. "Keep it in your pants, Gavril." The other woman snickered, and the men beside her just shook their heads. "Don't mind Gav. He's a few cards short of a deck."

"Our resident man whore," the woman on the floor piped up. "And my little brother."

Kenna whirled around, to point at the other woman. She was more muscular than Kenna, and her hair and skin were several shades darker. Gavril had the same coloring, but he could probably pick his sister up with one hand. "Meet Ella Garipova, our hacker princess, and all around badass. Their family is practically House of Shadows royalty, and they've got ties to the new KGB." Kenna paused and made a face. "Not that they're around anymore either."

It had to be strange, being in cryosleep for so long. Their lives were ancient history now, though for them it only seemed like a few years since they left.

"Alexander," called out the man seated to Ella's left. He pointed at the other on the floor. "And that's Peter." Both of them had broad shoulders and dark blonde hair. They weren't nearly as big as Gavril, but they looked like they could hold their own in a fight.

"They're not twins, or even brothers, but you wouldn't know it," Ella said with a smirk.

"Bet you can't even remember which one you fucked last night," her brother quipped.

Ella winked. "Both." Gavril made an exaggerated gagging sound.

Kenna crossed over to me, and slung her arm around my shoulder. "You're gonna scare the poor girl off," she chastised the others, with a grin on her face. "Alex and Peter are our clean up crew. Gav's an enforcer, and Callie keeps us all in line."

"We were all Shadows before being sent to the colony," Peter explained. "But only Cal and Kenna worked for Andrei." I recognized the name, Cal's father and the original leader of House of Shadows. According to the file, Andrei's grandfather had founded the Shadows in Moscow. Though Andrei had immigrated to New York, he was still the de facto leader of the entire operation. "There are other Shadows on this ship, but they came later."

"We're the sexy six," Gavril said, shooting a wink my direction.

"Cal is going to kick your ass if you keep hitting on his girl," Alex warned. He leaned back against the wall, as if ready to enjoy the show.

I glanced over my shoulder to see Cal shaking his head, a smirk on his lips. "I knew this was a bad idea."

Kenna whirled around so we were face to face. "But I convinced him. You should know us and we should know you." She leaned in close, looking me in the eyes, so I got the hint. She was keeping an eye on me now.

"Leave her alone, K," Ella called, hopping to her feet. "Come on, new girl. Let's see what you got."