“Damn,” Rylan cursed. “So they threatened you. I’m guessing you did continue on the project, then?”

“I tried my damnedest not to,” Noria insisted. She twisted the fabric of her nightgown nervously, and the guilt in her voice was clear. “In addition to what the chemist told me, I also found out they’ve been keeping shifter children in the labs to use for experiments. They used to have mage children too, but I think those were too difficult to kidnap.”

“That explains why we haven’t seen any shifter guards around,” I said to Rylan.

“Either way, I decided that the lives of children and animals were worth more than my own, so I built a flaw into the prototype to try and sabotage the project.”

“Oh, so what they have doesn’t work?” Rylan asked, sounding relieved.

“Well, no.” Noria’s shoulders slumped. “They found me out pretty quick. The director came to inspect my work personally, and he’s got a sharp eye. Not long after that, Annia was captured.” Noria’s voice hitched. “When they first brought her in, I didn’t know it was her. She was disguised as a Resistance soldier I’d seen around at the other camp, but when she was strip-searched, they removed some kind of bracelet, and the disguise failed. Has she been following me the whole time, or did she just impersonate that soldier?”

“She’s been following you the whole time,” Rylan said quietly. “Your sister loves you.”

“I know.” Tears filled Noria’s eyes, and she blinked them away rapidly. “The director noticed the family resemblance between us right away, and is using her as leverage against me. If I don’t complete the prototype, they’ll torture and kill Annia.” Noria’s lower lip trembled a little, and she braced herself against the bed. “The one time I was allowed to see her, Annia told me not to listen to them, that her life wasn’t as important as keeping the Federation safe. But I’m not willing to sacrifice my only sister.”

“Well, it’s a good thing you won’t have to.” Rylan came over to Noria and slid an arm around her shoulder. “We’ll get your sister out, kid, safe and sound. And we’ll get those shifter kids out too.” He hugged her tight against him, and my chest ached. I wanted to be there for Noria, to put my arms around her, hug her, and tell her everything was going to be okay. But I couldn’t, and I was grateful that Rylan was doing it in my stead.

“I don’t see how,” Noria said, wiping her tears. “They’re all locked up in the lower level, and heavily guarded. The doors and elevators can only be accessed with a special key.”