“I don’t understand,” I say, though I do, the horror of it turning my insides cold. I don’t want to believe it. But I can see the pieces falling into place now, see the story that makes a whole lot more sense than Corvus choosing to abandon us to fight. Corvus, a soldier? He could never even manage pickpocketing without guilt driving him to tears. The words catch in my throat, but I push them out. “Momma forced you to stay on Titan.”

Part of me still desperately hopes that he’ll say no. Because the lie, as much as I hated it, was so much less horrible than the truth.

Instead of speaking, he merely nods.

I let out a shaky breath, unable to muster up words. Maybe I should be happy to learn that my brother didn’t abandon me. Not of his own accord, at least. That should make me feel better. It should fix things between us. Part of me aches to reach out to him, pull him against me, but I can’t bring myself to. The gap between us is still there, only more painful now. The lie might have been what pushed us apart, but the truth isn’t enough to pull us back together. Not after years of hurt. Not when we’ve both become such different people.

Another realization creeps up on me as the silence between us lengthens. I’ve been telling myself that Corvus is strong enough to be the leader we need right now. But instead, he might be broken worse than I am.

“Where do we go from here?” I whisper, raising my eyes to his face again. He’s staring down at the floor, his expression shadowed. “What the hell are we supposed to do?”

He doesn’t answer.

Days pass in a haze of alcohol. I stay as drunk as possible to keep myself from drowning, and spend nearly the whole time in the cockpit to keep us on course. We’re still headed for Gaia, since Corvus hasn’t suggested any better ideas. Matter of fact, he hasn’t spoken to us at all. After our conversation, he became practically catatonic—leaving the rest of us stuck in limbo, waiting for him to get his shit together.

Shortly after Titan, we pass another spacecraft, an unmistakable blip on our radar, and my pulse races. There are only so many ships that could be out here with the borders closed, and we know the Red Baron is around. I hover with my hand over the emergency alarm. But after a tense few minutes, it passes by, and I let out a breath of relief. Thank the stars whoever it is didn’t intend to mess with us, though they’re in for a nasty surprise if they’re headed for Titan.