His caged bird, unable to fly.

Clo’s arms tightened around her. “Angry? Gods, no. Surprised? Aye. But I’ll get over it. We have Evoli working with us back at Nova.”

“I’m not Evoli,” Rhea said, gently pulling away. “I’m not Evoli,” she repeated to the others, this time more strongly.

“You look like a fucking Evoli to me,” Cato muttered.

Nyx and Eris turned to glare at the same time, but it was Eris who said, “You’d do well to remember that Rhea is the one who begged for your life. I almost had Nyx put a Mors blast through your skull.”

“And I wanted to comply,” Nyx added.

Cato pressed his lips together and glanced at Rhea. His emotions faded slightly, uncertain.

Eris nodded to Rhea. “Go on. Tell us.”

Rhea took a deep breath, tried to form the words. There, in the bright sunshine, on a floating island above the rocky surface of Ismara, her secrets fell free. “I look Evoli, but I wasn’t lying when I said I’ve never left Tholos. I was engineered in a Tholosian lab—part of a very small, experimental cohort personally overseen by the Archon. His goal was to hack Evoli DNA, access their abilities, and use it to weaken them.” Rhea shifted away from Clo. “They made multiple attempts at mixing our DNA with the Evoli. The Archon’s engineers still don’t understand how I’m the only one who survived.”

“So, you’re a spy?” Cato asked with a dry laugh. “And I’m the one tied up.”

Nyx glared at him. “You’re about to be the one with a broken nose if you don’t shut up and let her finish.”

Rhea shifted uncomfortably. “He’s not exactly wrong. I was created for the purpose of one day infiltrating the palace of the Evoli Oversouls. The intel I could gather as someone perceptive to their empathic abilities would have been invaluable; the Archon hasn’t been able to get anyone into that palace because it’s too easy for them to detect a Tholosian mind.”

Cato stared at her in disbelief. “That goes against everything the Empire believes. I would have expected them to kill you on principle. They would never have allowed you to live.”

Nyx moved as if to hit him, but Cato held up his hands. Though the worst of the programming was gone, he still had a lifetime of being told the Evoli were evil, something to be destroyed for the good of the Empire.

Cato’s face contracted with some emotion, the sheen in his eyes breaking for an instant. He looked at Rhea like he actually saw her. Unfogged by the Oracle. His shoulders hunched as he pulled against his bonds.

Rhea shook off Clo’s comforting touch. “They let me live because I was engineered to help destroy the Evoli,” Rhea said to Cato. Her voice barely wavered. “That’s the only reason.”