“As are you, for a change.” Lyon’s humor is dry, his formal tone difficult to read sometimes. It’s hard to tell if he’s being sardonic or sincere. “It seems I’ve caught you on your way out. I won’t keep you long.”

“Sorry.” I adjust the video camera, giving him my full attention. “Everything all right?”

Lyon’s face is drawn. He rakes back the silvering hair at his temples and rubs his eyes, a more human gesture than I’m used to seeing from him. A smile touches his winter-blue eyes. “It’s been a difficult week here at the Observatory.”

“More difficult than usual? I thought you and Gaia were already past the worst of it.”

After killing Michael, the former Chronos, Professor Lyon and Gaia had returned to the Observatory with a thoughtful and clear plan for liberating and reforming it—a plan they’d spent centuries secretly devising. The Guards loyal to Michael were rounded up and detained in stasis chambers within the Observatory. Awakened from their extended sleep in groups, they were subjected to hearings over the months that followed, as Lyon and Gaia replaced them with a security team of their own—a collection of Seasons and Handlers they’d been observing and quietly cultivating relationships with for years.

With the old regime out of the way, Lyon and Gaia then dismantled the old systems. New rules were established, condemning violence between Seasons and rewarding cooperation between the previously segregated wings. The restricted sections of the Observatory library were declassified, and Seasons were encouraged to bridge the gaps in our knowledge of our own history, to learn the truth about our magic—the truth Fleur and I had discovered and exposed to the world: that in pairs, we can survive off the complex system of ley lines Michael had leashed us to.

Think tanks and action committees were formed, consisting entirely of volunteers, allowing Seasons and Handlers to have a voice, paving a gradual path to peace. With the ranking system rendered meaningless, the barriers between wings were gradually opened, and Seasons were slowly given opportunities to train, eat, and mingle together. According to Lyon, there had been a handful of fights, but for the most part, the transitions had gone smoothly. And Seasons who wanted to be liberated from the Observatory, like Fleur and me, were granted the right to leave. Subject to a period of monitoring, they were released in pairs and permitted limited freedom of movement to preserve the environmental balance and ensure their safety.

When Lyon and I spoke last week, everything seemed fine; Lyon and Gaia’s plan had fallen into place relatively peacefully. With all the challenges of the initial transition behind them, it seems odd that he should look so worn out now.

“Gaia and I have awoken the last of the members of the old Guard.”