The confusion did not fade from the old man’s face, but at the sound of my name, the woman who was holding the ladder for him turned and gasped. “Nadin!”

At the sound of her voice, the world slammed to a stop. My mouth hung open for a long moment, before I finally managed to stammer, “Gitrin?”

I stared at her for a long, wordless moment as the man on the ladder jumped the last two steps to the ground. As soon as he was safely off the ladder, Gitrin brushed past it and raced over to me, pulling me into an embrace. My stomach clenched at her touch, and for a brief moment I forgot my anger at her and I hugged her back.

“Where did you find them?” the old man asked Marin, who had hurried over to help him take down the ladder Gitrin abandoned.

“Just outside the entrance to the city. The lookout said he spotted a group with gurzas before the storm blew in. We thought it was the runners back from Hope Renewed.”

Gitrin clasped my face between her hands, brushing my dirt-caked forehead with soft fingers. Smiling, she said, “You understood the messages I left for you. Ah, alin, I knew you would.” She glanced over at Marin, who was watching with bemusement. “Bright as a star, this one. I’ve always said she’s the finest student I’ve ever had. She’ll be such an asset to Elytherios—”

I threw my hands up, as if to stop the tidal flow of her chatter. An asset to Elytherios? “Gitrin,” I snapped, “what’s going on? What are you doing here?”

She looked at me, her head cocked and her expression blank. “I thought you knew,” she said. “I couldn’t stay in the citidome, not after what happened with your evaluation. The geroi already suspected me as it was, and when things turned out… well, as they did… I knew it wouldn’t be safe for me.” She smiled fondly and brushed my shoulder. “But I had faith in you, and here you are.”

“But the Liberator,” I spluttered. “He kidnapped you!”

Gitrin looked at the old man, then Marin, then back to me. “Of course not. I left the night of your evaluation. How could I have left you those messages telling you where to find me, if I’d been abducted?”

I felt like I was losing my mind. I glanced at Isaak, who shrugged helplessly. “You couldn’t have left the night of my evaluation. The medic at the hospital said that he’d spoken to you, the morning after my annual.”

“I never spoke to any medic, Nadin. I didn’t speak to anyone—I had to leave quickly.”

I squeezed my eyes shut, my temper building explosively inside me. “Stop lying to me! I’m tired of all these riddles and these evasions. I want a straight answer. Where is Ceilos?”