No ordinary human would have survived such conditions. Not the engineered, and certainly not the natural-born who managed to escape the slums.

Eris shoved down the guilt she always felt when she thought about those women. They shouldn’t have done it. They should have just let me stay dead.

“I would know if another pretender had come to the palace,” Ariadne said. “All clearance went through me. Besides, I understand the Oracle. I grew up with One.”

Eris blinked at her in surprise. “You grew up with the Oracle?”

If Ariadne had been at the palace that long, she would have seen Eris before she’d permanently changed her features. Eris had heard about One’s Engineer, but . . .

“How long have you been Engineer?” she couldn’t help but ask.

Ariadne looked uncomfortable. “All my life. The Oracle had my genetics designed to One’s specifics, and had my brain altered after birth to enhance my logical-mathematical intelligence so I could check One’s programming. I was the Oracle’s—” She pressed her lips together and took a step back, shaking her head. “Look, I promise you: One had no idea we were on this ship. I was very careful. I didn’t even risk contacting Kyla to warn her.”

Rhea stepped in front of her. “And so were Nyx and I. We wouldn’t have left if we feared discovery.” She let out a breath and squared her shoulders. “You’re just going to have to trust us on this.”

“I don’t care if they trust us,” Nyx said with a scowl. “Let me just be clear here: my allegiance isn’t to Tholos anymore, and it sure as shit isn’t to the Novantae. I’m only here to ensure these two”—she jerked her head toward Rhea and Ariadne—“could bargain for a safe relocation on a planet away from the Empire.”

That captured Eris’s attention. Nyx looked to be in her early twenties, so when Eris escaped Tholos, Nyx would have still been undergoing the harsh training reserved for members of the royal guard. Eris’s own training was similar but separate, and entirely under the devoted and ruthless attentions of her father.

Both lessons included eliminating weaknesses by having them beaten out of her. Affection was a weakness. Friendships were weaknesses, unless it was your cohort. All you had were loyalty and Tholosian patriotism, drilled into you until you no longer questioned or doubted the superiority of the Empire. Until you truly believed—with your entire heart—that everyone else who rebelled deserved to be executed, and every planet outside of it needed to be conquered.

“And you?” Eris found herself asking. “What do you want?”

She didn’t look away when Nyx’s harsh gaze met her own. “I want to go a day without executing someone,” Nyx said. “I can’t do it anymore.”