Julitta turned her head to answer and Kit tried to push the door wider but succeeded in gaining only an inch. “No, it’s some woman who says she needs to find Nolan.”

“Nolan!” the voice exclaimed, and suddenly the door was flung open to reveal the Melina of the news monitor. She looked younger but scarcely more rested, dressed in a nondescript bathrobe and rubbing the exhaustion from her eyes. “How do you know Nolan? What do you want from him?”

“I want to know where he is. I want to know if he’s all right. I remembered that you were a friend of his. I thought you might be able to help me find him.”

Melina was studying her with those quick, expressive eyes that seemed so thoughtful and, even at this hour, compassionate. “I know who you are,” she said slowly. “You’re Kitrini Candachi.”

“We met at Corzehia Mallin’s party,” Kit said formally.

Melina nodded. “But I’d heard of you before … And we saw you once, in the Complex. Nolan and I. But he didn’t know who you were then. Why should I believe you’re a friend of his now?”

Kit spread her hands. Was she really a friend? What, exactly, was she to Nolan Adelpho? “I took him to Gold Mountain to save Chay Zanlan’s life,” she said quietly. “I didn’t know him before that journey, it’s true. But on the trip—we became friends. I want to help him now if I can.”

But Melina had heard something in Kit’s explanation that was not in the words themselves. “So you’re the one,” she breathed. “He didn’t tell me your name.”

Kit’s spirits lifted with hope. “He told you about the trip?”

Melina shook her head. “I don’t think he told anyone—until he told the reporters. But it was clear something had happened. It was obvious he had fallen in love with someone.”

Kit felt her face color with heat. “Do you know where he is?” she persisted. “I’m worried about him.”

Melina stepped back and motioned Kit inside. Julitta closed the door behind her as Kit stepped into the spacious living room. She glanced around briefly at the colorful wall hangings and imaginative sculpture, then turned all her attention back to Melina.

“I’m worried about him, too,” the scientist said frankly. “Half the city wants to kill him outright, and I’m not sure he’d be safe if he was spotted on the streets. I’ve tried to persuade him to go back to his mother’s but he says he isn’t welcome there, and he’s probably right. My grandmother wouldn’t let me cross the threshold of her house if I had done what he’s done.”

“It was the noblest thing in the whole world!” Kit cried.

Melina nodded. “Oh, I agree. But stupid and dangerous and incendiary nonetheless.”