God, of course he isn't happy. He was never going to be happy, she knows that, but it bothers her anyway. She feels like she's trying ––shouldn't that count for something? How hard is it to break a habit, anyway?

"Do you think I want to do any of this shit?" she demands. "That I ever have? No! But it's my job, it's all I've fucking done for twenty years, and I need people in my corner, I need people to owe me favours so I can collect on them when I need to, I need people to respect me, and I am good at it."

She lets out an angry breath. Holds a finger in his face.

"And you can't tell me wardens care at all about the blood," she warns him. "They don't. Yunlan just wanted an excuse to frisk me."