As soon as I knew Sarah was undercover, I turned and ran back the way we came. Once again, I was racing through the hallways of the base. I had no idea where Claire was, but I went to our usual spot first.

As I turned a corner, I ran into two guards. They saw me too, and quickly extended the batons they were holding. I wasn't worried about them anymore, I knew they wouldn't be able to do anything to me, but apparently, they didn't know that.

The first guard swung the baton in an overhead swing. Since the hallway was so narrow where we were, he blocked the other guard from attacking. Either they still thought I was a Carpenter, or they were just hunting for the other cadets because the batons they had were made of metal bent into a tightly wound spring. I had seen those batons actually hit someone, and it was frightening.

I struck out at the rod while he swung toward me. Where the rod should have hit my hand, I made it rust away to dust instantly. Without feeling any resistance, the power of his swing threw him off balance, and he began to topple over. I struck him in the temple, making sure to change the color swirling in his head to one of unconsciousness.

The second guard wasn't deterred as his companion slammed to the ground. He swung in almost the same manner as the first, and I pulled off the same exact move on him. A wave of dizziness washed over me from the strain of using my power so intensely on the batons. I leaned against the hallway's side for a moment until it passed.

I resumed my run through the hallways toward my destination. I didn't see any other guards along the way. I thought there would be a lot more, but I didn't have the time to wonder where they all were. I had already accomplished my goal of saving my friends, I just needed to do this one last thing, and I would never have to think of that place again.

I ran through the library doors, expecting everything and nothing to be waiting for me on the other side. Luckily, I didn't see any threats. I yelled Claire's name and started running past the isles. Claire stepped around the corner, and I ran to her.

"You didn't leave," she signed.

"Not without you," I replied. Then I thought for a moment about why it was vital for me to get her. "I love you!" I said and signed. Her eyes grew wide, but she didn't say it back. "Let's go," I didn't want to waste any more time in that place and honestly felt a little foolish.

"Wait, I have to do something first. Follow me," Claire signed.

She started running toward the door without waiting to see if I was following. I followed her without hesitation. I wasn't going to let her do anything in that place alone. We did some more twisting and turning through the hallways, still not running into any other guards. We ran until we reached the section closed off to cadets and used solely for the cadre.

It was close to the office I had broken into before my mission. Claire didn't even pause as she went through one side of the double doors, and she was moving too fast for me to find out what she was up to. Our luck of not running into any cadre ended as soon as we entered their space.

The hallway was extra wide on the other side of the entrance. About thirty feet in front of us, four cadre members stood. They looked like they were having an intense conversation when we burst in, but after seeing us, they stopped and started to approach.

Claire signed for me to cover my ears, and I barely had time to do as she told me before she screamed. The sound sent a tidal wave of force at the guards, knocking them off their feet and causing them to fly through the air in the opposite direction. Even with my hands clasped firmly over my ears, it still hurt to hear.

I wondered if all the Sirens were that powerful. I had never seen any do more than make some small illusions or put someone to sleep. I had no idea they were capable of such force.

I didn't think her maroon badge with the letter D was accurate. But, my green letter C badge wasn't accurate either. Claire strode down the hall, past the fallen cadre, and took a right turn.

By the time I turned the same corner, she was running through a door at the end of the hallway. She was going so fast that the door was almost closed when I got to it. I opened the door and stepped in, and instantly froze with confusion. We were in Colonel Baxter's office, and he was sitting behind a desk in an oversized brown leather chair. On either side of him, two soldiers were both pointing rifles at me.

Colonel Baxter's desk was a huge cherry oak affair, but what caught my attention was Claire standing in front of it and facing me. While her body faced me, her hands were clasped together as she stood there. Claire didn't react as I walked in; she just stared at the ground. She didn't seem worried about the soldiers with weapons either, and I noticed they weren't pointing them at her anyway.

"What's going on?" I asked, but I felt a sinking in my gut that I knew the answer. I didn't believe it was true or understand how she could do this to me.

"I'm sorry," she signed. My heart felt as if it was being ripped out. They must have forced her, I concluded to myself. I started to think of a way to get us out.

"Claire," Colonel Baxter stated. Claire moved silently and obediently to stand beside the colonel's desk. "Well, it seems you have been keeping some secrets from us, boy." He looked over at Claire and back at me. "But you aren't the only one. My daughter here has been keeping a close eye on you."

He gestured to Claire, indicating that she was his daughter. I probably looked like a cartoon character at that point as my jaw fell open in disbelief. I didn't see the resemblance between them, but I don't think anyone did.

"She takes after her mother, not me, if you're wondering," he said, leaning back in his chair. He must have noticed my super subtle facial movements and the way I kept looking between the two. "Not only is she my daughter, but she's also my secret weapon."

"Secret weapon?" I pondered while I squinted in confusion.

Colonel Baxter guffawed at my confusion. "Don't worry, you're not the only one who underestimates the power of Sirens. They can do nearly anything with the power of their voices, including clouding the mind."

Again, I narrowed my eyes to understand his implications. Slowly the truth of what he said dawned on me. The missing memories weren't caused by the virus but by the Sirens.

They were intentionally erasing our memories to control us. I looked upon Claire with a newfound horror that turned my stomach. That meant she knew about this place just as much as Jace, maybe more.

"Oh. I thought you knew," the colonel stated. "Cadet Farrow reported that you regained your memory, but I guess not all of it. But I can't blame you for not knowing even with your memories returned. Claire does most of her work when you kids are asleep."

I looked again at Claire, but she wouldn't look away from the ground. My skin was tingling, and I wanted to scream, but the colonel continued talking.

"But you…you were much more problematic than the other kids. It took three times the sessions to get rid of all those pesky memories of your capture. We thought you were just an anomaly that could resist the mind wipes due to a strong will."

Tears fell from my eyes. As he told me all that, I struggled not to cry, but it was just too much. I came back for Claire, and she betrayed me. She had always betrayed me.

I remembered the first day I saw her, and it made sense. She was looking at me because she didn't know why my mind was so hard to cloud over. I have been such a damn fool.

"However, after your amazing display in the arena, I guess now we know why. Instead of touch and sound, you use sight." Colonel Baxter leaned forward with a sinister smile. "We've known about that ability for a while, and we can't wait to learn more."