“I know this is a difficult situation for all of us,” I say. “And I know I’ve been gone for a long time.” Lyre and Drom probably don’t even know the truth about that, I realize. “I want you all to know it was never my decision to stay behind on Titan. I… I had to.” I can’t bring myself to blame Momma directly with her loss still so fresh, but I pause to let it sink in before I continue. “Now I’m back, and I need you all to listen to me when I tell you this is not the path we want to go down. I’ve seen where this line of thinking leads.”

I look around, gauging their expressions. Drom’s face shifts from confusion to shock as she understands my confession about Titan. Lyre’s face is guarded, unreadable. Scorpia studies them, sipping her coffee, and waits.

“Stars,” Drom mutters finally. “No wonder you’re so fucked up.”

Despite my best intentions, anger flares in my chest. I just poured my heart out, made a plea for morality, and that’s all she has to say?

“I’m fucked up?” I push out from my chair and stand, slamming my hands on the table with a resounding bang. “Scorpia’s talking about negotiating with Leonis, and I’m fucked up?”

As my shouts die down to echoes and then utter silence, I notice the way they’re all looking at me—their mingled expressions of horror and pity. My stomach sinks. No one’s going to respect someone they pity. No one’s going to follow me.

“Well,” Scorpia says, and sips her coffee. She circles behind Momma’s chair and leans against the back of it. “Anyone else opposed?”

“I think we should at least arrange to speak with Leonis,” Lyre says. She glances at me, but quickly looks away again. “It seems like a logical course of action. She knows the most about the weapon.”

“If you think it’ll save Pol, I’m all for it,” Drom says. She’s sitting up straighter now, no longer quite so defeated.

“Okay.” Scorpia meets my eyes across the length of the table. “I’ll set course for Deva, then.”

“This is fucking ridiculous,” I say. “I can’t believe you. Any of you. I thought you were better than this.”

Before any of them can respond, I storm away from the table. Scorpia takes a step toward me, as if to follow, but stops.

I walk straight to Momma’s room, anger overriding my hesitance to enter her space. As the door shuts behind me, I lean back against it, taking deep breaths to calm the storm brewing in my head.