"Why would you do that?" I whispered, my voice cracking in pain.
He smirked infuriatingly. "I don't really have to explain myself to you at all."
"Fine." My chest rose and fell with ragged breaths. "But that makes you no better than him. You're just a monster."
"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Maeve," he said calmly, like my words slicked right over his skin. "I asked Valden to do it because I already knew you were different. Your mutation charts from back at the periphery showed as much. It's how you became an Omega in the first place. I knew there was power inside you, strength that you kept hidden. And I wanted it out. That's why I needed you to be in a situation where you were forced to fight. Now…," he folded his arms. "What I didn't expect was for you to be completely unaware of your powers and get beaten up like that. Let's just say, Valden let that happen. I never asked him to push you to the edge like that. I would have stopped it before it even reached that point."
