He reached for the ornate key embedded in the wall beside the fireplace. He twisted it counterclockwise, pulling back on the gas that kept the fire burning bright. The flames quickly dimmed, dousing the room in near-darkness. “He is weakening before our very eyes,” Darai told her quietly. “With every mind he compels, every person he adds to his mental fortress...his body is fading, Nor. I know you’ve seen it, too.”

Nor thought of the blood trailing from Valen’s nostrils. His rapidly declining weight. The way his hair, once full, had gone lank and greasy. And when she couldn’t find him, when he wasn’t in his mind castle, he was often asleep. Resting, so he’d be able to function the rest of the time.

“It will not be long before he breaks under the strain,” Darai said.

Nor closed her eyes, swallowing back another round of tears. She still loved Valen, even with the death of Zahn on his hands. “How long?”

“A matter of weeks, I believe,” Darai said.

Nor gasped, horror filling her. “Truly?”

Her uncle nodded sadly, his eyes downcast.

“But Aclisia is working around the clock to come up with a way to put his compulsion into the Nexus satellite,” she said. “And once we can do that, the satellite itself will carry the brunt of the weight, and Valen’s mind will be free. His body will be able to heal. That was always the plan.”

Darai looked at her again, those lips pursed as if he were holding back a secret.

“Nor... You must believe my words,” he said, looking into her eyes. “I have...held certain fears to myself lately, until I could be certain.”

“Certain of what?” Nor asked.

Her uncle frowned. “Valen will likely not survive long enough for Aclisia to connect his compulsion to Nexus. Already he is almost too weak to stand—today, he could not walk, after you parted. He is now in the medical wing, being assessed, but... Nor, my dear, it’s inevitable. Your brother will soon die. I have seen such things, long ago, in Exonia. And when he does...all will be lost.”

“So then what can we do?” Nor asked desperately. “What are you saying?”

That horrible numbness, the emptiness, was creeping over her again. It ran through her, cold and bitter and all too familiar, after the events of the past day.

Her uncle’s gaze held hers, golden as the sun. “We need his mind, Nor.”

“But what does that mean?”

“We must plug his mind, his very essence, into the satellite. It’s the only way.”

Nor took a step back, horrified at the very idea. But Darai held fast to her hand, as if he’d known what her reaction would be. As if he’d suddenly gained a strength he didn’t have before.

“It is the Exonian way,” he said.

And Nor’s chest ached.

Because she was horrified, still.