Celeste, driven by a lifetime of coddled entitlement, recovered her malicious bravado faster than I’d anticipated.

Cruelty had always been her substitute for courage.

“So what?” she snapped, stepping in front of Admiral Reed as if he were a bellhop.

“You joined the military and pulled a few people out of a fire. Congratulations, Evie.

You want a medal? That doesn’t make you inherently better than us.”

“No,” I said, locking my eyes onto hers. “It didn’t make me better. It made me incredibly patient.”