She waited until nightfall to leave the dragon encampment. Amara had to go back to New Chicago to retrieve the books that Emery left with her and the book from the cave if she could. She knew that most, if not all, of the village would be in the church and she would have very little time to sneak in and out. Amara hoped her cloaking spell would do the trick but if anyone bumped into her, she would fail. She ran past the church where she could hear the familiar sounds of chanting inside. Instead of running in front of all the houses, she ran around to the back of them and kept low. 

When she reached Joslyn’s house, all of the lights were out, which she took as a good sign. Amara’s bedroom window was one story too high to reach and jumping up to it may have drawn too much attention. So, she snuck around the side and checked for open windows. Luckily, the kitchen window was open just a hair. Amara slid it open just a little more and slipped inside the house. She left the lights off just in case anyone was keeping an eye out for her. Amara hurried upstairs to her room, dug through her closet, and uncovered the bag of books. After she slung the bag over her shoulder, she put everything back to the way it was. Amara tiptoed back down the stairs and slipped out of the kitchen window. As soon as she did, she saw the living room light turn on. She ducked down beneath the window and prayed Joslyn would not notice it had been tampered with. 

Once she heard Joslyn ascend the stairs, Amara sprinted into the woods. When she reached the mouth of the cave, she found that someone had lit a torch inside. No one was supposed to be there. She sensed a presence but could not put a name to it. Amara crept inside, keeping her back to the cave wall. When she saw the back of the person’s head, anger filled her body.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Amara attempted to hide the irritation in her voice.

Emery whipped around, startled by her presence. “The same could be asked of you. You aren’t supposed to be here either.” 

Amara sucked her teeth. “You are the last person who gets to tell me where I can be.”

Emery laughed, “I have grown to admire your fire. Have you really forgotten about the connection between us?”

“A connection that died the moment I learned you lied to me. I will never be anyone’s science experiment ever again.”

“Amara you have to know that I didn't mean to hurt you. I wanted to tell you the truth, but I fell for you in a way I wasn’t supposed to.” He looked to the floor.

“Wasn’t supposed to?” She scoffed. 

He advanced towards her but Amara took several steps to the side, out of his reach. She was prepared to fight her way out of the cave if she had to. 

“No, but it’s the truth. Which is what you prefer to hear. I wanted to know how the government created us, why the government created us. There has to be more to it than just dragon defense. The power you are capable of is unexplainable by Earthly standards–unexplainable even by Daughter standards. Aren’t you the least bit curious?” He leaned against the altar. 

She was curious, but she was not planning on sharing that with him. He betrayed her trust; he did not deserve to know any part of her anymore. “Curiosity killed the cat.”

Emery frowned. He then took several quick steps and shoved Amara against the cave wall. He kept his right forearm on her neck and his left hand on her wrist. She fought against him but the harder she fought, the harder he pressed. She tried to kick him, landing one on his side before he stomped down on her feet so she could not kick again. This was the first time Amara had seen true anger in Emery’s face, experienced his power as a former Daughter–and it was all directed towards her. 

“You think you are worth something but the reality is, you aren’t. You were created in a test tube for Athena's use. Did you really think anyone here would see you as a person? Are you that naive Amara?”

She took the opportunity to spit in his face but he did not loosen his grip on her. 

“If you had not unplugged our siblings, I would have no need for you. Alas, here we are. I care for you Amara, I truly do, but the Sacred Scales are more important to me. The fate of the world is more important to me.” Emery pushed his forearm deeper into her neck.

She coughed and gagged as stars formed around the edges of her vision. Amara was not going to let him win. She took her right arm, jammed it into the space between Emery’s forearm and bicep, and then brought her forearm down onto his elbow. This broke his hold long enough for her to head-butt him. He stumbled backward so she kicked him in the stomach. Once he doubled over, she took his right arm, twisted it behind his back and shoved him to the ground. He wriggled against her, so she placed her foot on his back and pulled his arm away from his body. He screamed in agony but she did not let up. 

“I told you, the next time you touched me; I would rip your arm off. But I’ll settle for this” Amara pulled until she heard his shoulder dislocate. 

At first, Emery was so in shock, no sound escaped his lips. Then his screams started and intensified to a level even Amara did not expect. Someone would hear him eventually; she had to get out of there. She hopped over Emery, snatched the book off of the altar, shoved it in her bag, and booked it out of the cave. Without allowing her eyes to adjust, she ran at full speed, using her senses to guide her through the obstacles in the forest. She could hear Emery screaming after her but she did not stop running. She broke through the tree line, letting her feet carry her as fast as they could. There was no one roaming outside for the moment but Emery’s screams would draw people out of their homes. Amara could make out the shape of the hills, she focused her vision on those and only those. Emery’s screams sounded further and further away as she ran, until they finally tapered off into silence. Amara now knew she could never return to New Chicago- not unless she wanted to fight to the death.