“Godstars,” Dex whispered, coming up beside Andi. “She must be from Tevara—the moon that orbits Vacilis. I’ve never met anyone from there before.”

“Where did she go?” Andi asked, stepping forward to stare at the space where the girl had just been.

Moments later, the girl’s laughter could again be heard, back down the passageway. Andi and Dex whirled, and sure enough, she now stood behind them, arms crossed over her chest, the metallic strands of her hair glinting in Andi’s cuff lights. “The name’s Eryn Railian. And you are Androma Racella.”

“Eryn likes to show off,” Soyina said, shrugging as if she were used to Eryn’s tricks. “She can bend light, make herself and other things seem to disappear. Arachnid was incredibly pleased when Eryn came along. She’d been hiding in the city for a few days after Nor took over, and now she’s quite useful as a spy. Gets us a lot of information from the rest of the dome.”

As Soyina spoke, Eryn approached Dex and tentatively placed both hands on his arm, closing her eyes and tilting her head at just enough of an angle to still show off her smile. The edges of Dex’s body began to flicker beneath her touch, fading from view as if a giant ghostly hand was gradually erasing him from existence.

Andi watched in amazement as Eryn and Dex faded, then reappeared together, Dex’s eyes wide with shock as he cursed. “Incredible,” she breathed. “How do you do it?”

“With style,” Eryn said playfully. She held out a hand, twisting and turning it, making it fade from view and then return, fully formed again.

“Enough of your show,” Soyina said impatiently. A tattoo of a dragon danced across the bridge of her nose, reminding Andi briefly of Lon. “Though I do want to see if you can sneak me into the bathhouse later. I’d like to play a nasty, painful little trick on that bastard, Peiter.”

“I’d be honored,” Eryn said with a small bow. “After my shift is over, of course.”

“Eryn guards the entrance,” Soyina explained. “There’s no one else expected today, so should anyone arrive...” Soyina glanced to Eryn’s thigh, where a menacing silver pistol nestled in its sheath. “Blast them sky-high, my little dove.”

“With pleasure,” Eryn said. She kicked the door twice, two booming thunks of her metallic boots against the steel, then faded from view in a blink, as if she’d never been there at all.

“Theatrics,” Soyina said with a sigh. “Arachnid appreciates them so.” A booming knock sounded from the other side of the door, and she grinned like a demon. “It seems the show is about to begin.”

The door opened slowly, emitting a great groan as someone inside heaved at the weight of it. At first, Andi saw only bright light. As her eyes adjusted, she heard Dex gasp from beside her, and then...