I’m comfortable with my own invisibility, having developed a good sense of spatial awareness after years of practice. Still, it isn’t easy navigating without my light. At least I’ve got some experience from back in Florida. I take it slow, glancing often at muddy ground in front of me, ducking low to go under branches. At one point, I have to carefully step over a striped rattlesnake, the thing not even shifting as I pass by.

Before long, I spot Adam’s lantern bobbing through the jungle. He’s moving purposely slow, waiting for me to catch up to him. He doesn’t hear me coming. When I slip my hand into his, in the moment before I turn him invisible, I hear his breath catch and shoulders tense.

“Scare you?” I whisper to him. I pluck the lantern out of his other hand with my telekinesis, going through the same routine that I did with my own.

“Surprised me, that’s all,” he replies quietly. “Let’s go.”

We start picking our way through the jungle towards where Marina should be. I’m careful not to go too fast at first, but Adam has good balance and seems to be keeping up just fine. His hand is surprisingly cool and dry despite the humid jungle air—he’s steady, this whole situation isn’t weird to him at all. I can’t help but breathe out a little laugh.

“What?” he asks me, his voice a whisper in the darkness.

“Just never imagined reaching a point in my life where I’d be holding hands with a Mogadorian,” I reply.

“We’re allies,” Adam responds. “It’s for the mission.”

“Yeah, thanks for clearing that up. Still, it isn’t weird for you?”

Adam pauses. “Not really.”

Adam doesn’t say anything more. I remember something he said back on the flight to the Sanctuary.

“Who do I remind you of?” I ask him as we carefully climb over a fallen log.

“What?”

“Back in the Skimmer, you said I reminded you of someone.”

“You want to talk about that now?” he whispers back.

“I’m curious,” I reply, keeping an eye out for the telltale glow of Marina’s lantern. We don’t see it yet.

Adam is quiet for long enough that I start to think he’s just done talking, like his silence is a reprimand for not staying on mission. I’m about to tell him that I can successfully track one Mogadorian while also carrying on small talk, thank you very much, when he finally answers me.

“Number One,” he says. “That’s who you remind me of.”

“One? The Garde you took your Legacies from?”

His hand tenses up in mine, like he has to stop himself from yanking away.

“She gave her Legacy to me,” Adam snaps. “I didn’t take anything.”