“Siege had said you were HIVE’d.” It was Redbeard who spoke. He had not taken his eyes off Di. “But I hadn’t thought that meant you were . . . I’m sorry.”

Surprised, Di looked back up to him. “For what?”

“For what happened,” filled in Xu, and turned their white gaze to him. “For what we went through.”

He had avoided the Metal, partly because he was afraid he would miss being like them—unable to feel shame or guilt—but when he finally looked at Xu, he found that the same memories he had while in the HIVE reflected on their face. They were more alike than not, both having done terrible things, and unable ever to rectify them. They had to live with it—no, not live.

Exist.

That was a better word for it.

He was neither Metal nor human anymore. He existed somewhere in between.

“So we’re just going to believe him?” one of the Elder Court scoffed.

Siege pressed something on a small control panel on her end of the table and cut their video feed. “Di, let’s get to it.”

“Yes, Captain.” He threw his hand out toward the center of the table, hijacking the holo-screen. He summoned up a grid of the HIVE as he last remembered it, its tethers spread across the kingdom like kite strings. The map was almost entirely red. It reminded him of the synapses of a human brain, the way it lit up and traveled information.

“This is the HIVE. As of last count, there were twenty-seven thousand, five hundred and two Metals inside. The Great Dark created it to harness people’s life force. That is how it survives. It is fueled by the light in people, and with it the Great Dark will be able to take life directly. No need for Metals or the HIVE, and everyone inside will die. Conversely”—he dropped the hologram and looked out to the table—“if we kill the Great Dark—Mellifare—then we will also murder all twenty-seven thousand, five hundred and two people who have been assimilated into the HIVE.”

“Then we can do nothing.” It was the first time Jax’s mother, Avena Taizu, had spoken, her face relaying nothing but cold emotion on her video screen. “If the D’thverek wins, we lose the Metals in the HIVE, but if we win, we still lose the Metals.”

“Then let’s find some way to save the Metals and defeat the Great Dark,” said Cullen as they reclined back in their chair, propping their polished boots up on the table. “I mean, if Rasovant found a way to put a soul in a robot, then there’s gotta be a way for us to get a dark goddess out of a supercomputer.”

Mokuba barked a laugh. “Yeah, like we got that technology.” But then he tilted his head. “But I can put my ear to the ground to see if any of my contacts know anything about the heart.”

“And in the meantime, Zenteli can harbor the rogue Metals left—the sanctuaries can’t be safe for much longer,” Avena Taizu added, and the Elder Court grumbled in agreement. “We aren’t under any kingdom jurisdiction, so any attacks the Messiers might make will be in direct violation of our treaties.”