“You know, when my family fell ill with the Nibiran plague, I held on to hope for a very long time,” she says. “I was furious when my aunt made the decision to pull the plug on my parents and sister. I never forgave her, all the way until her own death. It took me many years to realize that sometimes death is the kinder option. If it was my own daughter now… I would make the same choice that my aunt did.” She doesn’t say it coldly—no, her words hold the sting of an emotional but honest truth. “Even if we salvage his life, your brother will never be the same again. I want to make sure you understand that.”

My mind flashes unwillingly to Corvus. The change in him since his return, the physical and mental scars, the unshakable feeling that he is a stranger wearing my brother’s flesh as a disguise.

“No matter what, he’ll still be my brother,” I say.

CHAPTER THIRTY

A New Job

Corvus

Despair hangs over me like a cloud as I limp back toward the ship. Every bruise and jolt of pain reminds me how severe of a mistake I’ve made. I’m lucky to emerge without anything broken, but the physical pain is nothing compared to the overwhelming sense of my failure. This was my chance to avenge my people, bring Scorpia and the rest of my family back from the point of no return, and instead I let my emotions get the better of me.

“I cannot believe you,” Lyre says. By the time the fighting was over, Scorpia had sent us all a curt message ordering us to meet her at Fortuna rather than the apartment building she initially indicated. “A bar fight? Seriously? After all your talk about our ‘very important, very time-sensitive’ purpose?”

“It was kind of badass, though,” Drom says begrudgingly. She still won’t look directly at me ever since I lunged at her. Whatever rift I created when I hurt Pol, I’ve torn it open more now.

I stay silent. Not only did I fail today, but everything I’ve done has only pushed me further to the outside of the family. Over and over, I’m proving to myself that I don’t belong here. All I know how to do is hurt people. If I had pulled off my plan, sacrificed myself to take out Leonis, we would all be better off.