As the hood is pulled back from my head, I find myself face-to-face with a human standing prouder than the rest. Tall with dark hair and a beard that’s meticulously cut, his whole demeanor screams wealth, and the silver bird emblazoned on his chest tells me this is exactly the human Noam first warned me about. The people’s king, the leader they chose: General Marchess.

“The last one. And a woman,” he says, slowly and in our language. Every syllable hurts more than the next.

He motions to one of his men, and they undo the bonds at my wrists. Marchess inclines his head to the arena behind him, where the cheers rain down like thunder and the sound of shouts has become too familiar, too close to my heart. “Perhaps you are as weak as Ellian. My predecessors were right to keep her here. What could I make you do after a few weeks of poison, hmm?”

I have had enough of the humans, enough of their city and their cruelty. Enough of their lies and their noise and the way they poison the sky with smoke and fire. So I choose my first words to this human carefully.

“I will fight you,” I say. “I will fight you until I die.”

The human shakes his head. “A stubborn breed. Very well. You’ll get the same fate as the others.” In one smooth movement, he punches me right in the stomach. The move catches me off guard, and I double over, gasping for air, as the soldiers roll me into a holding cell. I get up and onto my knees just as the gate goes down, closing off my only chance at escape. My chest heaves as I try not to vomit or cry. I only succeed at the first.

Tears flood my vision as I stare at my hands on the packed earth of the holding cell. The heavy footfalls of the crowd above send dust into my hair, and refuse from prior occupants of the cell clogs my senses. Yet none of that is as horrible as the absence of my bag with the cure and my people’s future inside.

I failed.

We all have—but worse yet is that I had held the flower in my hand. I had felt the earth where it grew. I had enough of it to save the prince and every single sick child, but I came here instead. No wonder Ellian pushed for me to go through Ramsgate. I was stupid to trust her and to let my heart convince me it was worth it to try and find the others.

Without the cure, I have nothing. But I still have to fight.