I spent less time eating and more time playing with my food at lunch. I didn't know if it was the upcoming mission that was bothering me more, or how I'd snapped at Hailey.

Victor grinned at us as he sat down. "Honestly, now they're talking my stomach's language." He said as he picked up the chicken leg that he'd gotten for lunch.

We all chuckled as he bit into the meat. "You think more with your stomach than you do with your mind." Evanora smiled.

"It's a true gift." Victor smirked.

"It's a real tragedy that we weren't born with such a valuable gift." Alex said.

Victor grinned, not catching onto Alex's sarcasm and continued to eat.

Sky brushed some of her braids off of her shoulder and looked up and behind us with inquisitive features. I turned around to see Hailey talking to her mother in the cafeteria doorway. They're conversation looked heated.

But then again, when was it not heated?

I sighed and turned back around, attempting to suppress my guilty feelings. I couldn't dwell on Hailey and her problems now. Not when I had my own.

There were three days until the mission. Three days until I had to attack my mom's workplace. Three days to prepare.

Alex cast me a worried glance and I looked up at him and summoned my best smile. He took in my features with his intense green eyes for a while, perhaps searching for what was troubling me, before he sent me a small smile in return.

Lunch ended rather swiftly and we had free time. We swarmed into our separate common areas to relax for a while. Grace rushed over to our group with a grin. "Guys! We watched movies today!" She beamed.

We all smiled at her. "What movie, Spark plug?" Victor asked, heaving her onto his shoulders as she giggled.

"Loony Toons!"

Skye chuckled a bit as Grace leaned over to play with her hair. "I'm honestly still surprised they're doing that. Letting the kids just chill and watch movies, I mean."

"It was fun!" Grace grinned.

"You guys have it easy." Alex said. "We have to train like, every two hours."

"Every four hours." Evanora corrected.

"Every FOUR hours. I knew that." Alex repeated.

"You have to train that much because you're in the group, Alex. And everyone hates you." Grace sassed.

Everyone "Ooooo'd" at Grace's insult. "Damn, Alex. She just slayed your ass." Victor smirked.

Alex rolled his eyes with a small smile and a scoff.

"That means you're a wimp." Victor added smugly.

Alex hissed and launched himself at Victor. The blonde haired boy let out a shriek and morphed into a squirrel before skittering out of the room, Alex hot on his heels.

Evanora rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to Grace and began to put her hair into two twin buns. "They are literal idiots." She murmured.

Skye chuckled and turned her attention to me. "Something interesting must be going on in Circe-land." She said.

I looked over at her curiously. "What?" I asked.

"You've been quiet this entire time. What's got you so silent?"

Though she tried to hide it, I could see Evanora's eyes shift to me for a second. She was interested in seeing what was wrong with me too.

I shook my head with a small smile. "It's nothing. I've just been getting less sleep lately. I've been spacing out more." I lied.

Skye nodded, seemingly satisfied with my answer.

Evanora, however, frowned slightly. "Hey, Skye? Can you watch Grace for a moment? I forgot Carol wanted me to take Circe to her." She said standing up.

Skye smiled."No problem." She said, holding out her hands for Grace to take.

I knew Carol didn't want to see me. If she did, she'd ask for me herself. But I wasn't going to call Evanora out like that.

So, reluctantly, I stood up and followed her out the door. As soon as she shut it, her eyes became filled with worry and concern.

"Circe, something is obviously eating at you. It's painfully clear. We can all see it and it's killing you. If not for our sake, then for your own, PLEASE what is going on?" She begged, her golden eyes sparkling with a ferocity that I'd never seen before.

I took a deep breath and swallowed thickly. I didn't want to tell her. I truly wanted to make sure that my problems stayed my own. But now, with Evanora standing here begging me to tell her, I realized that I couldn't keep it in any longer. I realized how that pain had disguised itself to me and I had used it to lash out at Hailey. I realized that I had to let it go.

I hadn't even noticed that I was crying until Evanora hugged me tightly, stroking my hair that had fallen into a ponytail. "Come on," She said, gently leading me away from the commons area. "Let's go to my room so that you can cry it out."

_ _ _ _

I shivered again as the last of the tears fell from my cheeks. Evanora hugged me closer to her as I sniffed. "Better, now?"

"As much as I can be." I muttered.

"Ready to tell me now?"

I nodded and began to play with my hands as I started speaking, "You know that lab that we have to attack in a few days?"

Evanora nodded her head.

"Yeah, well, my mom works there. She's a doctor in the genetics division."

It was silent between us as Evanora's brow creased in sympathy.

I realized that I wasn't done getting everything off of my chest and I continued. "And it makes me see her in a new light, ya know? I mean, she was such a sweet and kind woman. She would literally KILL for me, Evanora! She would move the world! And she loved me and dad to bits and she was so fucking smart and beautiful and she was my literal idol and now-" Another sob racked my body and I buried my teary face in my hands.

I couldn't believe that someone like my mother would be involved with someone as cruel as Dorian. All those years when she drove off to the lab, all those times she said that she was helping people, curing cancer and all that bullshit,

She was lying.

She was the one doing the killing. The killing of an entire race. And for what? The actions of a few of their kind?

Evanora pulled me close and rubbed my back reassuringly as I cried into her shoulder.

"I understand." She said softly. "It's okay to cry, Circe, alright? You don't have to be strong enough for all of us."

I chuckled breathily. "I'm kind of the face of an entire revolution, Evie. It's literally my job to be strong enough for everyone."

"Not for me, Victor, Alex, and Grace, though." She said flicking my nose softly. "We've been through hell and back together. We can be strong enough for ourselves."

I smiled. "Yeah. You're right."