Rhea shook her head. “I know him, gods help me. Damocles has always resented the fact that she earned her place and he didn’t. He’ll want to make her suffer for it publicly, and she’d be the perfect person to set up for the fallout of any assassinations. She’ll be there. He’ll make it look like she released the ichor and planned a genocide.”

Ariadne curled herself up even smaller. The soft light of the cockpit fell on all of them, making their expressions look grimmer. “I don’t think I can challenge the Oracle again.”

Clo didn’t know exactly what Ariadne had gone through during her childhood, but she recognized that fear that haunted the younger girl’s face.

“The Oracle’s influence isn’t as strong on Laguna,” Rhea told Ariadne, her voice gentle. “It’s an Evoli planet.”

“That doesn’t mean One won’t be there,” Ariadne whispered. “The Oracle will be on the ships. In their minds. And I don’t . . . I don’t think I’m strong enough to fight.”

Rhea drifted closer, resting her hand on the girl’s shoulder. “You are. We all are. If we were the type to crumble, we never would have risked leaving Tholos to begin with.”

“We made it out to leave,” Ariadne said, uncurling and moving away from Rhea. “We didn’t run away to keep going back into trouble. We did it. We helped the resistance. I want to help Eris, I do, but I also want a life.”

“None of us want this.” Clo spread her arms. “The gods know I’d rather be anywhere but here, but if we allow the Tholosians to assassinate the Evoli leaders, the Empire will grow completely unchecked. It’ll be worse than it is now.”

“Then we should just tell them,” Nyx said. “That’s less risk for us.”

Cato let out a dry laugh. “I appreciate the thought of less of a risk, but unless one of you ladies has any way of contacting the Evoli Oversouls in the few short hours we have before the ceremony, that’s not exactly an option.”

“You’re right,” Clo said. “It has to be us.”

Nyx snorted. “Five of us? Shit odds. And that’s me being generous.”

“Seven if we include Kyla and Sher. We may not be able to trust the rest of Nova, but without Eris, we have to bring them in on this.” At everyone’s silence, Clo let out a long breath. “Listen, this is what we’re faced with. I wish we weren’t, but we have to save the people on Laguna and we save Eris. We owe her.” Rhea nodded, but Nyx still looked doubtful. Clo scowled. “If it were Rhea or Ariadne, wouldn’t you do whatever it took to save them?”

“I would,” Nyx said. “You know that I would.”