Sam frowned a little. "I wouldn't know," she admitted. "I got whooshed here before the showdown." Which, honestly, created a pretty toxic emotional soup for her. There was, of course, anger over the fact that Avery was in the middle of brainwashing her. A sense of shame, like she'd let her friends down by not being there. And, of course, some relief, because only a fucking moron wouldn't be afraid of what was waiting for them. And Sam wasn't a moron.

Most of the time.

"Sometimes people around here disappear," she said. "There's a theory that they're sent back home, to the exact moment they left. Personally, I think that's bullshit and they're really just dead on a dissection table somewhere. But if I end up being sent home to the battle, I'll let you know how it went."

She raised her hand, pretending to toast him.