Renna gets up, her arms folded. “We cannot change what was decided back then. I’ll get to the point that this one keeps dancing around.” Her words are sharp, but she and Hammond had the benefit of working together for many years. A few barbs are nothing between them. “When Noam learned of the humans’ peace offer, he advocated for the kingdoms to take it. No voice was louder in favor than his. Time and time again, he argued to all four kingdoms’ ambassadors, and to the king, that it was an opportunity to establish goodwill and a lasting peace. Ultimately, when the Four Kingdoms rejected the idea of peace, he was livid.”

Hammond makes a hmm sound in agreement. “He abandoned his duties to live with humans on Balmora for good. He thought that if they welcomed one Leonodai, they would welcome more.”

“Why wasn’t I told any of this?” I ask, my voice rising in a way that I wouldn’t have dared just a few weeks ago. That Shirene would have kept her composure and probably held her tongue. This Shirene was changed, exhausted in body, mind, and heart. I have every right to be angry—and now I understand why the humans do, too. “I have been a sentinel for nearly a year. No one thought to tell me this? That the humans know our words and that they wanted to stop the fighting?”

“I don’t think it was a conscious decision,” Renna replies. Her storm-gray eyes, lined with age and fatigue, bore into mine. “There was so much else to teach you. More important things for you to focus on. Besides, it was already done, a book opened and closed.”

“Except now it’s open again,” I say. “That’s the real reason why we haven’t announced Noam’s return, isn’t it? Not only because we have more important things to do, but because if the citizens knew he had returned, they’d want to know why he left.”

Hammond nods. “Yes. The people cannot know, Shirene. They can’t know their children are dying simply because their leaders were too proud.”

His words shake the very stone we’re standing on. The lifeblood of the city is sick, and if he dies, then the Four Kingdoms will have no one to blame but themselves.

Wordlessly, I turn away from them and trudge back to the infirmary. My peers follow, murmuring to themselves, but I don’t listen. Right now, I can make myself useful by staying with the families. That much is true, that in this moment, it’s also enough. We’re halfway back when I see the Chief Healer climbing the stairs toward us, taking two at a time despite her age.

Renna goes to her. “Is something wrong?”