And in the silence his head throbbed, and the voice in the glitch screamed and screamed, and the Great Dark sang its song, and the noise was so loud he could hear nothing else.

The curtains across the room shifted in the evening breeze from the open window.

There was a girl standing there, her gown the color of opals and her skin an earthy bronze. She turned to him, her golden eyes catching the afternoon light—

Honeysuckles spilling through vines, her eyes wide and hopeful, leaning toward him, pressing her soft lips on his metal mouth . . .

I will always come back for you, I promise on iron and—

He blinked, and she was gone, and the wind whispered through the curtains.

III

Starlit

Ana

The Solgard descended from the watchtowers. Their silvery skysailers reflected the evening light off their hulls and made them look like comets streaking toward them. The dust had barely settled, and they hadn’t caught their breaths.

“Take Elara and hide!” Siege ordered, her hair as orange as the undersides of the Solgard’s ships.

Ana didn’t really understand. “But what about you and Talle and Robb and—”

“The girl’s an exile. If she’s caught, they’ll never let her leave.”

“But—”

“Siege is right,” Robb agreed. Jax was slumped against him, unconscious. “We’ll be fine. You’ll think of something.”

“We could all hide. Scatter and—”

“Ana.” There was an unspoken warning in Siege’s voice.

Ana cursed under her breath, looping Elara’s arm over her shoulder. The girl was still unconscious, her head lolling to one side, silver hair draped into her slack face. Ana barely had enough time to haul her underneath a waterfall of ivy hung from one of the ark’s tall rib-like bones before the fleet of Solgard ships crested over the ark and landed in the green clearing. The guards pried Jax, unconscious, away from Robb, and arrested them. Within moments, her family was gone, taken back up to Zenteli.

A small group of Solgard lingered behind, poking through the weeds and undergrowth in the ark, looking for her and Elara, who began to wake up against her. She groaned, and Ana shoved her hand over her mouth to quiet her—but not quick enough.

One of the guards came near, jabbing his spear into the underbrush. Her heart thundered as he poked a spot just over her shoulder, and another by Elara’s knee—

And then walked on.

She quietly lowered her hand from Elara’s mouth. The girl was fully awake now, and they stayed as still and quiet as they could as the Solgard inspected the area, the ancient rings, the glass-clear crystal, until they were satisfied. They seemed a little jumpy, spooked by being in a place like this—a relic of their ancestors—so they didn’t stay long, thank the Goddess, and hurried out without so much as a glance back.

When they were gone, Ana and Elara slipped out of the ivy.

“What happened? Where did everyone go?” Elara asked, rubbing the back of her head. Her hair was matted with blood, and she hissed as her fingers touched her wound. Ana had gotten enough stitches to know Elara needed them.