“Your Cêpan built the equipment. I was hoping you might have some insight into how it works.”

Nine laughs with disbelief. “Yeah, uh, sorry, dude. I left the nerd stuff to him.”

“I see,” my dad replies, undeterred by Nine’s bluster. “In that case, perhaps we could figure out how it works as a team? Unless you’re too busy punching things.”

To my surprise, Nine actually considers this. I see the same wistful look on his face that I noticed on John’s face earlier and it occurs to me that they’re both thinking about their Cêpans. I realize then what my dad is doing, reaching out to the angry guy, trying to get him involved in a project, Afterschool Special style. It’s a total parent move, but I admire it.

“All right, yeah,” Nine says. “It’s my shit. I should know how it works. Lead the way.”

As Nine and my dad head into the Lecture Hall, John turns to me.

“Your dad’s a good guy,” he says. “We might have to make him an honorary Cêpan.”

“Thanks,” I reply, my smile brittle. A cold knot of dread forms in my stomach, because I know what happens to Cêpan around the Garde, what happens to adults. It’s a dark thought, I know, but I can’t suppress it. I’ve only just reunited with my dad––I don’t want to lose him. Without realizing it, I’ve started rubbing the scars on my wrists. John must intuit what I’m feeling because he puts a hand on my shoulder.

“Don’t worry, Sam,” he says. “We’re not going to lose anyone else.”

I hope he’s right.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

“SO WHEN ARE YOU GUYS GOING TO FLORIDA?” Sarah asks me casually, like it’s a vacation I’ve been planning.

I’m beat. It’s a good kind of tired, though—today was a productive day. No time spent running and hiding, no time wasted. We cataloged the contents of our Chests, Sam managed to print up some solid fake IDs, and I got some training time in the newly refurbished Lecture Hall.

“Two days from now, I hope,” I answer Sarah, dropping down to the floor to knock out a quick set of push-ups before bed. “I want to get everyone together in the Lecture Hall tomorrow, see how the team looks. I don’t expect much trouble recovering Five’s Chest, but you never know. It’ll be good to have everyone get some experience together. And then we’re off.”