I walk into the tent, seeing Madi asleep on the bed. I brush her hair gently back from her face, careful not to wake her, when a soft voice outside catches me off guard.

"Diana? You awake?" I hear

I freeze, heart skipping a beat. Niylah. I wasn't expecting her- not here.

"Yeah...Shh, Madi's sleeping" I whisper, stepping aside.

She walks in cautiously, sitting down a few feet from me. Her presence feels.....strange, familiar, and I'm not sure what to say.

"I'm sorry...I just haven't had the chance to talk to you." She said quietly

I hesitate, then nod.
"I know. I'm sorry. Everything's,,,just different now. Hard to get used to" I said

"Not so different. You saved our lives again. Thank you." She says softly

"That wasn't me. That was Bellamy. I was ready to go to war to protect her." I tell her, nodding toward Madi.

"You and your daughter....you've both changed things" she murmurs

I glance at Madi, asleep and peaceful.
"Yes... for the better, I hope" I reply

"They say you made her a nightblood. Is that true?" Niylah asks carefully, eyes flickering to Madi.

I nod slowly.

"I've gotten good at telling when people are lying." She says, and I stiffen. Before I can answer, a sound outside the tent makes my blood run cold.

I grab my knife, stepping outside. Niylah moves cautiously behind me.

And then I see Gaia, moving fast, taking Niylah by surprise and knocking her unconscious.

"Gaia? What the hell do you think you're doing?" I demand

"Protecting the last two true nightbloods, as my order has always done." She says, eyes steady on mine.

I drag Niylah into a side room and close the door behind us, heart pounding.

"Whose side are you on, Gaia? Are you a flamekeeper or Wonkru?" I ask sharply

"Blodreina saved my life, but that doesn't mean I can forget my faith." She says, pulling a dagger from her bag.

"Gaia, I will not let you kill her. She's a friend" I snap

"Niylah is not a friend. You're Wonkru or you're the enemy. That's what she believes. If you want to protect Madi, this is the only way." Gaia replies

"I said no" I tell her, voice rising,

"Diana-" she starts

"Madi is not a threat to Octavia" I add

"Keep your voice down." She warns

"She's a child." I tell her

"Yes. A nightblood child who appeared with you after we rose from the ashes. That's no coincidence, Diana. Octavia's not gonna see it that way, and neither do I" she says

I press my knife against her throat.
"Listen to me. If you think you can force Madi to become a commander or Haiplana-" I start

"I would never do that. And I'm not the one who you should be afraid of." She interrupts, gesturing toward Niylah.

"Go. Before she sees you" I say, as Niylah starts to shift awake.

"I hope you know what you're doing" Gaia says

"I hope so too" I murmur

I go over and help Niylah sit up.

"Diana what happened?" She asks, rubbing her head.

"Someone tried to attack you. I didn't see his face.  Why would one of your own people want to do that?" I ask, frowning.

"These are dangerous times for all of us." She replies quietly

"Even Madi?" I press

"I'm sorry, my friend. You and Madi both being true nightbloods could tear Wonkru apart." She admits

"Give me till morning to tell Octavia myself" I say firmly

"If you tell her the truth, she will show mercy." She says, standing to leave.

"Are you sure about that?" I ask

"No...but I do hope it." She says, then walks off.

I step outside and run into Monty, tinkering with some tech for the upcoming mission. He glances up, sensing my tension.

"You okay?" He asks 

"Just a lot on my mind. Especially Madi" I answer

Monty nods slowly.
"We'll figure this out. You don't have to do it alone. Just... be smart." He tells me

"You know, harper gave me the same talk" I said, a small laugh escaping even in the midst of chaos.

"Six years in space can make you a lot alike" he replies, his normal grin on his face.

I smile, truly.
"Thank you, monty" I say squeezing his shoulder before walking to join Bellamy.

"We made deal with Octavia. Echo is going to defect, she has the thumb drive from Monty. She'll get it to Raven. Then we can shut down the eye." Bellamy tells me

"Bellamy... I have to defect too. Me and madi" I say firmly

"Diana, no. They'll kill you. This will work. If you can wait a little longer-" he starts

"I can't. Bellamy.... Madi is a real nightblood. And now Niylah knows. And Gaia knows. One nightblood is risk enough, but two? I can't risk her getting hurt" I say, tears threatening to fall.

He studies me, before grabbing my hand, grounding me.
"We can protect her. We will" he says, and I nod. For now, that was enough.

"The latest grounder fashion, with one small modification. The jump drive is hidden inside" Monty explains to echo

"Clever" she says

"Once youre on the inside get it to Raven. She'll know what to do. Dont get killed ok? Youre the only one who liked my algae" Monty says, hugging her

"Actually, I was just being polite" she laughs

Harper, Monty and Clarke leave, and echo turns to me.

"I've got this." She says

"I know. Echo, Madi and I are coming. She can't stay here, it's not safe" I tell her, my gaze barely able to meet hers.

"She's a real nightblood, isn't she?" Echo asks

"That obvious?" I ask, and she looks down.

"If anything happens to me, promise to keep her safe" I say

"It won't. But I promise" she nods. I smile back and leave.

Back in my tent, Madi's stirs awake.
"What's wrong?" Madi asks, blinking awake.

"We can't stay here." I tell her

"No...no, mom" she protests

"Madi. Please. Don't question me right now. You should have never left that valley" I say, my voice almost cracking.

"I did that because you were in trouble." She says softly but with determination.

"I know, I know.... Listen to me. Niylah knows the truth about you. Gaia too. And when Octavia finds out-" I trail off

"Octavia's your friend" Madi says

"She used to be, but six years is a long time. Now I'm not too sure. Octavia is not the girl from the stories I told you about. Not anymore" I admit

"You think she'll hurt me?" She asks

"I don't know. But I do know I can't risk anything bad happening to you. You're my daughter, my family, and family looks out for each other" I tell her

"Where will we go?" She asks

"Home. When the transport ship gets back. No one cares about your blood there. You'll be safe there." I say

"You won't, mom. If we go back, Diyoza will kill you." She says, her voice threatening to break.

"I know it's hard, but sometimes there are no good choices. Now if anything happens to me, you need to find echo or Marcus. You find them, okay? Do you understand?" I ask, tears pricking my eyes. She nods slightly.

"Come here." I say. She rushes into a right hug, and I struggle to hold back my own tears, holding her close.