His chest rises and falls as he takes slow, steady breaths. He doesn’t stop looking at the wall for a long time. I stare at it too, trying to see what Father saw. I know the picture Father had. It was taken in one of Cornell’s parks. Mother was wearing a white and blue dress that rippled around her feet. She was holding Flavia, and Father was holding Erinn. Then there was me, dressed in the black suit I would have worn to the Secondary Formal—if I had gone. I know that was the picture, because Father never shared any other memories with the twins.

“I’m proud of you, Arman,” Orcher says. “I am. You don’t have to be an ambassador to make a difference. Anyone who says otherwise is lying. I’m glad you stuck through, and I promise to help you however I can. I owe your father that.”

I can’t help but feel a twinge of guilt, because I didn’t come here to make a difference. I don’t want to make a name for myself.

I want to disappear.

Chapter Fifteen

“You know what would really help your chances with Ladia? If you—”

“If I learn Narvidian, she’ll be impressed.” I toss Glacia one of my shirts, which she folds and drops in my dresser. “Knew you’d say that.”

“Belvun doesn’t have a language, does it?” Glacia wonders aloud. “I bet she’d love it if you spoke in her tongue.”

Glacia scrunches her face when she says those last words. I cringe at the thought of her joking about me kissing Ladia. I chuck another shirt at her, but she swats it down before it hits her face.

“Just saying,” she coos girlishly. “Besides, you need to start being a more interesting person. If we can’t learn a new language, then I’ll teach you all the constell—oh, grow up. Like I care.”

She rolls her eyes and grabs the stack of underwear from my trunk, then refolds them for the dresser. I try to stay distracted until she finishes.

“Want to go unpack your stuff when we’re done?” I ask.

She raises one eyebrow. “Why? Hoping to get this duty?”

“N—no.” I stutter as I search for words. “That’s not what I—like, I just didn’t know if you—”

“I’m teasing, mister,” Glacia says, amused by how flustered she made me. She glances at the books stacked on my desk. “I’ve been meaning to ask: are you going to read those?”

I shake my head.

“Mind if I borrow one?”

“Sure.”

Glacia picks up Earth as It Was and runs her hands over the cover. By the way her lips curl into a triumphant grin, I suspect she doesn’t plan on returning them for a long time. Then she stuffs her nose between the pages and heaves a long, gigantic sniff.

“It smells so good.”