“Yes.” Scorpia snaps her fingers and points at me. “That must be what she wanted. But building a fleet takes time. Leonis won’t make any drastic moves right away. I say we talk to her now, blackmail her with the vial and the info we have, make her fix Pol. Then we get the hell out before this war really gets going, and find somewhere safe to hide until it’s over.”

“Or we could go forward with what we know,” I say. “Ruin all of Leonis’s plans before she can begin them.”

Scorpia’s expression dims, like she’s surprised I don’t agree with her. But what the hell is she thinking? Leonis destroyed Titan. Betrayed us. She killed Momma, nearly killed Pol. If I could get close enough, I’d murder Leonis myself, not bargain with her.

“You’re not getting it,” she says, holding my gaze. “Even if the other planets do believe our story, it implicates us, too. We’re the ones who brought that weapon to Titan.” She shakes her head. “If we go forward, Pol dies, and the rest of us will end up in jail.”

“Look, I care about Apollo as much as any of you—”

“Do you?” Drom interrupts. She sits up straighter, leveling me with a glare. “’Cause it didn’t look like that back on Titan.”

“That…” Guilt gnaws at me as my mind replays our fight again. I had never hurt one of my siblings before. Never. “That was a mistake. But—”

“We can’t afford to make any more mistakes right now,” Scorpia says. “We’ve only got one shot at this.” There’s a triumphant look in her eye. Too late, I see this for what it is: She’s taking control, right now, right in front of me. I thought I didn’t want the responsibility, but I forgot what it’s like to be forced to follow orders you don’t agree with. And I never imagined Scorpia would be like this. She’s going to lead us on a suicide mission.

I need to stay calm. Find a way to get through to her and the others rather than letting the divide between us become deeper. I need to stop this from happening.