Chapter 39

She stormed through the front door, pausing just long enough to make sure it locked behind her. Tears had formed in the corners of her eyes, blurring her vision so much that she nearly walked into a large man coming down the sidewalk.

“Excuse me,” she said, and he tipped his hat at her in response. It wasn’t until she was at least a couple of blocks away that she dared to look up, to see that the sky above her was far away and that the walls were not, in fact, closing in.

She wasn’t certain if the panic attacks were a result of her experience at the Black Palace or the experiments. Her memory was such a blur during that period that it was hard to say, but she did know that they made her a liability. It had been difficult to hide them, but Tasia knew the right things to say and when to say them.

By the time she spotted the park, she was disappointed to see that a small crowd had formed. A man with his back to her was chatting with a bunch of older men and women and