He speaks so softly I can barely hear him. “Hypatia didn’t come home last night.”

I gasp as dread and panic flood me.

Rafe turns to face the wall, hiding any emotion from me. “She’s too young to attend Carnevale. She shouldn’t have even been there! But she snuck onto the Atlas.”

“I… don’t understand.” Guilt is building along with my fear. I’d seen her. I should have said something.

“What’s to understand?” He whips around, glaring at me accusingly. “Sires were being hunted down, and I managed to help you but not my own family.” The regret in his voice is clear. “There are rumors going around of another capture attempt last night that was thwarted. Two rescued Sires and one lost.” He stalks toward me with conviction. “I will find Hypatia and bring her back. I need to find out everything about the other attempt and whether anyone else was contacted with the offer of an antimatter trade. Leo would never have touched Hypatia, but he must know something about whoever did. Until I’ve interrogated them all properly, you cannot say anything to anyone about their connections.”

Ah. Suddenly Rafe’s helpfulness, not to mention the fact that he kept me isolated in his room all night, begins to make more sense. He needs my cooperation. But if it means helping Hypatia, I’m happy to give it.

“I won’t say anything,” I promise. “I want to do whatever I can for Hypatia, but aren’t there more… qualified people looking for her? Won’t giving them more information make it easier for them to find her?”

Rafe barks out a bitter laugh. “The gravdamned qualified people follow too many rules. They’ve known about this risk for months, and they chose to ship all the Avant Sires off to this island for protection instead of dealing with the root of the issue. They claim they’re trying to find the missing Sires, but they’ll never accomplish anything while being so careful not to interfere, not to harm—” His eyes blaze. “I’m not afraid to do harm. I’ll do whatever it takes.”

“What about Prince Alexander?”

“He says he’s taking care of it. That he worked out a plan with Chorus—she gave him some cryptic prophecy like she always does. But Alex wasn’t around to watch Hypatia grow up the way I was. I can’t imagine he feels the same urgency.” His voice breaks. “She and I haven’t been on the best of terms lately.” He shakes his head ruefully. “Because of her friendship with you and your roommate. But I shouldn’t have…” He suddenly stalks to the other end of the room, obviously annoyed with himself. “Why am I even telling you this?”

“It’s not a bad thing to talk sometimes.”