He shook his head, trying to shake away the vision. Melina would be able to clear it all up for him, if he ever got back to the city, if he ever had a chance to speak to his friends again. His whole life seemed so far away, unreal, something he had dreamed of in a fevered sleep. He shook his head again, more forcefully.

“What? You think he isn’t allowed to have visitors? He is. I’ve seen him myself in his cell at the Complex.”

Her words made no sense until he was able to recall what she had said just before his brain descended into dark speculation. “No—I was thinking about something else—sorry, I wasn’t paying attention,” he stammered.

“Well, let’s not talk about it anymore,” she said.

“Tell me one thing,” he said. “How does Chay feel about Jex? And some of his more—violent activities?”

“He hasn’t told me,” she said in repressive tones. “Why would he discuss his son with me? A man of honor would do no such thing.”

“You must have formed an opinion,” he persisted.

“I think—I think Chay has a very mixed reaction to Jex’s strong opposition to Ariana Bayless,” she said reluctantly. “On the one hand, he’s proud of Jex for being so forceful, for following his convictions to the blind, bitter end. The gulden have always loved a man who was willing to die for a belief. And, in his heart, Chay agrees with Jex—he does not want to see the Carbonnier Extension. He does not want the indigo to take another inch of land from the gulden. On the other hand, Chay has rejected violence his whole life. He has preached negotiation and strategy—still forceful, but much less brutal. So he would not endorse Jex’s methods even if they were successful. And I believe the parent in him fears desperately that Jex’s methods will not be successful, and that Jex will lose his life in this endeavor. And Jex is Chay’s only son. So you can imagine how deep such a grief would go.”

“And you?” he said, before he could stop himself. “How deep would such a grief go with you?”

She gestured; a motion of helplessness. “He is my life,” she said simply. “He has been since I can remember. How do you give up something like that? But I do not know that Jex will survive the course he has set for himself. And then—” She gestured again. Nolan made no answer. There were no words.

They were silent for another hour or two. Nolan was surprised when Kitrini was the one to speak next.

“Have you considered,” she said, “exactly what you will say to Chay when you approach him?”