The Seligo wanted Cipher bad, but if she’d finally hooked up with the Ravens, then odds were her trail led to Lady Eva. Now if I showed too much, I’d give the Seligo the keys to capturing every single Raven. If that happened, then the few Red Helix girls who’d escaped the system would be charcoal toast.

I couldn’t let the worst-case scenario happen. But if I didn’t show enough…

I was only as useful as the information I provided. Doctor Nagi had been trying to replicate my power for years, but so far no one else could do what I did. That had kept me alive.

But if I stopped delivering intel he and the Seligo could use?

I’d get sliced up and turned into a series of oozy tissue samples. That future was always waiting.

Adrenaline shot through my fear.

This was why I put up with the constant threat of death and worse.

When I sat in the holo chair, I sat in the driver’s seat for the whole Citadel. The right hint from me could shift the military, social policies, and Doctor Nagi’s research.

I could change this world.

At least, I’d keep trying to until the future caught up with me.

Letting out a deep breath, I relaxed my hold on the Cipher’s image. Lucky for her, the backpack only gave me a tiny window—just a few scattered images. I could steer Darren toward what I wanted him to see and she and I wouldn’t have to get hurt this time.

Instead of going back, I paged forward through the layers of time. The foggy blue edges in my mind projected as blur, but only I could tell whether the different shapes and shades meant past or future. Darren had to take my word for it.

For a while, I pretended to get stuck at the beach. I showed tides and sunrises until Darren started pacing. Then I followed the pack’s story, picking and choosing what to skip and what to project. I skipped over an image of Cipher kissing her new Raven boyfriend—her perfect genetic match, thanks to Eva’s tinkering—and instead showed a few innocent scenes of her sorting her clothes and swimming.

Nothing damning yet, but this was where it got tricky. Even if the pack didn’t give me much, the Seligo had been fishing for Cipher for years and they brought me something of hers every few months. A glass with her fingerprints here. A fried processor there.

It all added up.

At this point, I was pretty cued into the girl’s life story. The edges of new time layers curled in the air in front of me, aching to be touched. It would be the easiest thing to peek.

I gripped the chair arms, preparing myself. I had to be careful.