“Sereva,” she called and had to repeat the name twice before her cousin stirred. Then, instantly, Sereva was on her feet and bending over the bed.

“Kitrini! You’re awake! How are you feeling?”

“Awful. I hurt all over. I’m not even sure what happened.”

“There were a couple of explosions in the Centrifuge this afternoon. Hundreds of people killed. Only a few of you got out alive. They sent a message to Granmama and it—Kit, she actually fainted. I think she’s so much frailer than we realize. I didn’t know if I should stay with her or come to you, but Jayson’s with her, and he called a while ago to say she’s fine now. But you! You were so pale and crazy when I came in. You didn’t recognize me—you didn’t speak to me—”

“I recognized you.” But now a new pain was settling in over Kit’s chest, weaving itself through the warp of her ribs and troubling her breathing. “You said—explosions in the tunnel? Caused by—what?”

“They don’t know yet. Could have been some electrical malfunction, I heard.”

“Or it could have been a bomb. Bombs.”

“Maybe, but that’s too horrible to think about.”

Kit knew she would be unable to think of anything else. “When will they know? Are they investigating? Did they shut down the tunnels?”

“Oh, yes, the Centrifuge is closed for the next week at least. There’s a two-mile section between South Zero and One that’s completely caved in. Nobody knows how long it will take to repair. Ariana Bayless is already trying to figure out how to route commuter traffic into the city. They’re offering incentives to workers to stay in the city at special hotel rates, and they’re planning to overhaul all these old buses that haven’t run for years. It’s going to be a mess.”

It was Jex. Surely not. Surely, not even Jex would blow up hundreds of people during the commuting hour, just to make a point, just to infuriate Ariana Bayless? It was Jex. He was not so cruel, so reckless, so prodigal with others’ lives. It was Jex. But she had just left his arms, and he knew she would be taking the Centrifuge home. He loved her; he would not have sent her into such danger without a warning, would not have allowed her to leave him blithely to steer straight into certain carnage. It was Jex. It was Jex. It was Jex.