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chapter ten, The Truth

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Both Nova and Octavia got dressed after the moment they had. Nova buttoned up her leather pants and put on her boots along with her black and gold shirt and her black and gold cloak. She looked in the mirror in her office and fixed her hair while Octavia was by the desk finishing getting dressed when there was a knock at the door.

"Come in" Nova says as she clears her throat and walks behind her desk. The door opened and Bellamy and Echo entered hand and hand. "So, what do you have for me?" Nova asks as she looks to Echo. "Nothing you're gonna like" Bellamy answers for her and Nova furrows her eyebrows.

"I'm not turning people in so you can execute them" Echo states and Nova chuckles slightly. "Oh! A spy and murderer not willing to turn in traitors, she has changed Bellamy" Nova says sarcastically. "But seriously, Do you have the names or not?" Nova asks as her expression gets more deadly. "There's something else. Monty was wrong. He can't hack the eye from here, not without inside help" Bellamy says and Nova rolls her eyes, "So, you've failed at both things" Nova points out leaning forward on her desk.

"Not exactly" Bellamy says as he holds up a thumb drive. "What is that?" Octavia asks as she steps forward looking at the drive. "Inside help. There's a program on it which opens the backdoor to their systems, giving us control of the camera on their mother ship. Monty says it's easy to use if we can get inside their firewall" Bellamy explains and Nova sighs. "Ah.. I see. You want me to let you defect?" Nova states crossing her arms over chest. Bellamy shrugs putting the thumb drive away. "Either that or your people starve to death here in Polis when your farms stop producing" Bellamy states and Nova scoffs shaking her head slowly.

"Fine," Nova answers and just before Octavia can say something Nova interrupts. "Echo can go. You're Octavia's brother and you've been to the valley before. She won't believe it" Nova says as Echo and Bellamy locks eyes. "She's right, I already have the perfect cover. I'm banished. The defectors think I'm one of them" Echo states and Octavia sighs. "Keket, letting traitors go will promote dissent" Octavia states, "She's right. It's a political sacrifice, but a necessary one if you want your people to survive" Echo says taking a step forward while Nova looks her up and down.

"Tell Kara to call off the patrols. That's an order" Nova demands looking to Octavia who exits the office. "Once you're on that ship you're on your own. If you're discovered or you fail to take down the eye, no one is coming to save you. Especially not me" Nova states as she locks eyes with Echo who puts her hand out. Nova looks down at her hand and smacks it away. "I'll shake your hand after we get the valley" Nova says as she walks out of the office.

It was a couple hours later and Nova seen Echo saying her goodbyes to everyone. Once Nova went back into her office she saw Octavia sitting down in a chair looking over a map and Nova takes a seat in her chair behind the desk when a sudden knock at her door is heard. "What now?" Nova shouts as the door opens revealing Madi.

"Madi? Um- What are you doing here?" Nova questions locking eyes with Octavia before looking back to Madi. "Keket, Blodreina, I need to tell you something" Madi states and Nova nods her head as Madi continues and tells Nova and Octavia the whole story. Madi is a real night blood she wasn't taken to ALIES place and had the blood given to her. She was born one but Clarke wanted to keep Madi safe so they told a lie and Nova understood completely.

After Madi told them the truth Octavia decided to take Madi back to Clarke which Nova thought was slightly weird but she didn't think anything of it. "Oh-" Nova realizes what Octavia is going to do and she rushes out of her office and down to the arena where she sees Madi and Octavia in the middle of a ceremony.

"Octavia!" Nova shouts as she rushes down and sees Octavia cut the palm of Madi's hand. Nova sees Clarke rush in at the same time. "Madi? Madi! Octavia, get away from her" Clarke shouts as she rushes in the arena pushing past Madi. "Clarke it's okay. I came to her and Nova" Madi states and Clarke turns her head to face Nova. "I had no part in this, Clarke. I came to stop it" Nova states truthfully before Octavia cuts the palm of her hand

"Now we bind ourselves in one blood" Octavia says as her and Madi clasps hands. "You are Wonkru" Octavia says and Nova walks up to Octavia. "You had no right! She's a child!" Nova shouts in Octavia's face. Octavia pushes past Nova and looks to Clarke, " I understand why you lied, Clarke, you were just trying to protect her. But Madi no longer needs your protection. She has mine. I know what it's like to be the girl under the floor. You don't have to be afraid anymore. Your training begins tomorrow. Don't worry, your secret's safe with me" Octavia states as she walks off.

"Clarke, I didn't tell her to do this" Nova says as Clarke rushes to Madi and checks her hand. "How could you let her?" Clarke asks turning to Nova. "I did nothing! I ran down here as fast as I could. I knew something was up the minute Octavia wanted to walk Madi out" Nova says and Clarke shakes her head. "Yet, you did nothing and let her make her apart of your clan!" Clarke shouts and Nova scoffs.

"I did nothing wrong. If you want to blame me go ahead but this was all Octavia's doing" Nova says as she turns to Bellamy who slowly walks up in the arena. "You said you would let them go" Bellamy says referring to the traitors. "I said I would let Echo go, and I did" Nova states. "You murdered your own people!" Bellamy argues, "I executed traitors! Do you really think Diyoza would believe Echo's story if I just let them go?" Nova questions and Bellamy hesitates to answer and Nova nods her head slowly.

"That's what I thought. Let me know when the eye is down" Nova says as she pushes past Bellamy and leave the arena going back to her office and slamming the door behind her. She leans up against the door and let out shaky breaths and bends down placing her hand on her knees as tears uncontrollably rolled down her cheeks.

This time she couldn't hold it in. All the pain from the conclave, the dark year, and now we're all built up and she couldn't take it anymore. Nova had to let it out. She would have never let Octavia do that to Madi since Madi resembles Naira in a way and thinking about Naira and the death of her made Nova sob and fall to the ground leaning her head against the metal door behind her.