“Yes,” I replied. I didn’t understand half of his words, but his tone said it all. “And you need to guard your tongue. You never know who might be listening.” I tapped my earpiece and looked pointedly at him. He rolled his eyes and slumped down in the hospital bed.

I sat on the empty bed next to his, scrolling through a System panel. There had to be a backup of the plans to the time postern somewhere. I just needed to find them. But I was having a hard time concentrating. I kept thinking about Ceilos. He hadn’t been in his rooms at the villa this morning, even though the System indicated that was his location. He must be offline somewhere. He wouldn’t answer any of the comms I sent him, though, so I couldn’t begin to guess where he really was.

I wondered if he would ever speak to me again. The thought made my stomach queasy.

I knew it wasn’t right, but a large part of me blamed Isaak for this. If it hadn’t been for the things he said in the plaza, I never would have brought any of it up to Ceilos. We could have kept on as we were. Nothing would have had to change.

But someday it would have, a small voice reminded me. Clearly this had been in Ceilos’ mind, though it had never crossed mine. Someday, when we were partners officially, this would have come up.

I stubbornly pushed the thought away. It might not have happened this way. This was still Isaak’s fault.

“What are you going to do if you can’t find the plans?” Isaak asked.

I whirled on him. “Why do you keep asking me questions like that? Why do you seem to think I always have the answers? I don’t know what I’m going to do, Isaak!”

He blinked. “I’m sorry,” he said. “You just… you act like you always know everything.”

I flicked the System panel away in annoyance and glared down at the peeling finish on the bed’s metal footboard.

In a softer voice, Isaak said, “You know, you don’t have to always have the answers. It’s okay to just say that you don’t know.”

“A gerouin should know,” I said. “A gerouin must be a leader.”

“Even the geroi are just people in the end, Nadin. Nobody’s perfect. Nobody knows everything.”

I thought about Melusin—always so poised, always so in control. For the first time, I wondered if she ever had doubts. If she ever questioned herself. If she ever fought with Antos. Somehow, I doubted it.

“So, where’s Ceilos at?” Isaak asked.

My chest clenched at the words. I sighed and said, “I don’t know. Just like everything else, I don’t know.” I flopped back on the hospital bed.