I brush away a scratchy leaf poking at my jaw. “What didn’t work?”

“Getting Lalana out of the Maker’s life!” she screeches. “We thought if they never got involved, we could alleviate the betrayal. This would be one less way for the Maker to lose touch with reality. But we were wrong. They don’t even have a relationship, not yet. But the Maker’s already betrayed. Already angry.”

I shake my head. Is she talking about Bandit? She must be. And yet…Bandit and Lalana do have a relationship. They’ve been friends forever. Does the Voice mean a romantic relationship? Or is she referring to someone else altogether?

“Are you talking about her secret admirer?” I ask.

“Yes.” She pauses. “I thought that was clear. Lalana’s secret admirer grows up to become the Virus Maker.”

Finally. A concrete piece of the puzzle. I open my mouth to ask her to explain, but she rushes on. “I already told you—I’m not going to reveal this person’s identity, so don’t ask.”

Damn. It’s like she can read my mind. Predict my every move. And maybe, disturbingly, she can.

“There’s a good reason I can’t tell you. Please trust me on that,” she continues. “For now, all you need to know is that framing Lalana didn’t accomplish what we intended. It didn’t stop the future. All those people still died.”

The half-formed demands leak from my mind. “So I betrayed my best friend for no reason,” I say dully. If only a branch would detach from the tree and impale me now.

“It wasn’t for no reason.” Her voice feels quieter. Before, I would’ve thought she was speaking more softly. Now, I know she’s simply thinking her words with less force. “Framing Lalana may not have taken us all the way to salvation, but it’s a step in the right direction. It can contribute to the future in ways you can’t understand. So don’t you dare try to undo your action!”

I blink. That’s exactly what I was thinking. Man, she’s good.

“We can’t have you fessing up that the weed was yours. Dad will ground you as quickly as Lalana’s parents, and we need you free and unencumbered for the rest of spring break. Got it?”

I lick my lips. I don’t like it, but for the sake of those suffering people, for the sake of my daughter, I can wait. “Okay. But if I don’t see a tangible effect of pinning the weed on Lalana by then, I’m going to the authorities.”

“She’s just one person,” the Voice says, exasperated. “With the kind of stakes we’re facing, the life of one person is an acceptable sacrifice.”

I close my eyes. She might be right, but damn. Why is it so hard to accept?