“Why would SPEC help us?” I said, incredulous. “That’s not what they do. They’ll throw us in prison. They’ll tear the family apart. You know that. You’re not thinking clearly.”

“We need help.” His voice was calm and unyielding, his expression solemn, but as he spoke my skin prickled.

“What do you mean, waiting?” I asked. “Waiting for what? Waiting for us?”

“Zahra. We don’t have much time.”

“Do you think they knew we were coming here? But they could have stopped us at Civita Station if they . . . You said that.” My voice faltered, dropping to a hoarse whisper. “You just said that. If they wanted to stop us, they could have.”

“Zahra,” Malachi said quietly.

I needed him to stop saying my name. “How did they know we were coming here? Did you tell them? Did you go to them? Is that how you were able to get through the security net? What did they promise you?” My voice was rising, my hands shaking, anger washing over me like a storm. He didn’t deny it. He didn’t even look surprised by the accusation, and that was the worst reaction I could have imagined. “Do you hate us that much?”

“I don’t hate you,” Malachi said.

“Don’t fucking lie to me. You betrayed us. What did they offer you? Did they offer to make you a citizen? Was that your price for betraying Adam? Betraying us?”

“Zahra. That’s not what happened. I came from SPEC.”

I stared at him. “What?”

“I’ve been a Councils citizen since I was a child.”

“But you . . . you came to us.”

“I found the homestead because I was looking for it. That was my assignment.”

I could barely speak. “I don’t believe you.”

But I did, and I could not even manage disdain enough to hide the crushing feeling of dismay. He was a SPEC agent. He had been a traitor all along. The stories he had told about applying for citizenship, being turned away at the border, giving up hope, they were lies. I had thought he was my friend.

“Why?” I asked. “Why would you do that? Did they send you for Adam?”

Malachi shook his head. “I wasn’t looking for Adam. My mission had nothing to do with him. The Councils don’t care about him. They’ve never cared about him. There are men like him all over the desert, building wretched little kingdoms that collapse as soon as they’re made. He was never a target. Do you understand what I’m saying, Zahra? SPEC has never been interested in Adam or his followers.”

“But the raids. The sicknesses. The disappearances.”