Gitrin blinked. “He’s not in Hope Renewed?”

“No!” I shouted at the top of my voice. “The Liberator commed me, he said he had both of you. He’d taken you. You and Ceilos. He said he wanted to meet with me, so I came. I came here to see the Liberator, and I want to see him right now.”

Gitrin frowned. “Eos?” she said. The old man stepped forward.

I scoffed. “You? I’m supposed to believe that you’re the Liberator?”

He folded his arms. “I am… in a manner of speaking. There is no one Liberator. That is an identity that all of us in Elytherios share. It’s the name we adopt when we go on missions to the citidomes, to deliver supplies or help refugees who need a safe haven. Most people associate it with me, since I was the first runner.” Something about his voice sounded wistful. Marin slipped her hand into his, an oddly affectionate gesture for someone who had seemed so cold on the mountainside. Eos smiled. Then he looked at me again. “But it’s been a long, long time since I’ve left Elytherios.”

“Well, someone must have done it,” I snapped. “I spoke to a man who called himself the Liberator. He said he wanted to meet with me. He said that he had taken you and Ceilos, and that if I wanted to see you again, I would have to come here. Now I am tired of playing your guessing games. You tell me where Ceilos is right now, or I am going to tell the geroi exactly where they can find your little nest of rebels.”

Eos stepped forward, straightening his back and rising to his full height. Despite his age, he was very tall—and he looked very strong. His voice was like ice as he said, “I will see you dead before you bring any harm to the people of this city, kyrin.” He spat the word out like it was dirty. “This village is a sanctuary. It is the only free place on Iamos. We will not allow the geroi to taint it with their poison.”

“Eos, please,” Gitrin said, inserting herself between me and him. “She is only a child, and she has lost much. She doesn’t know what she’s saying.”

I bristled. She had no right to call me a child—I was enilin. I was about to say as much when Isaak put his hand on my shoulder.

“Nadin, come on,” he said. “Be rational. Gitrin is right here, telling you she wasn’t kidnapped. And Eos says he never commed you. Think about it—why would he lie? We’re totally at their mercy right now. They could throw us in the dungeon, but they haven’t. They don’t even have any torquing weapons pulled on us.”