The air is heavy with fear. We head for the tree line at the district borders, but even the familiar forest isn’t enough to ease the tension in my body. Eventually the barn comes into view, but it isn’t until the platform starts to lower that I let out a sigh of relief.

I turn around to look at Theo. His elbows are on his knees, and his fingers are scraped through his messy, curly hair. I open my mouth to ask if he’s okay, but I struggle to get the words out. Theo looks so breakable—as if a single touch could shatter him.

When we walk through the doors of the Colony, Ahmet and Yeong are already on their way up the hill to meet us.

“We didn’t think you’d be back this early,” Ahmet admits, hesitant.

Yeong waves a hand like he’s asking for identification, and we each take turns holding up our palms. The blue imprints glow for a few seconds before vanishing.

Satisfied, Ahmet looks at me. “How did everything go?”

Theo marches forward without a word, bulky arms tight at his sides and his fists clenched. He makes a beeline for his ground-level home. We stand in silence, watching him disappear through the doorway, before a horrendous scream erupts from within the walls.

Ahmet and Yeong are already moving, racing down the gravelly path toward Theo’s hut. Shura takes a step forward too, but I close my hand around her forearm.

Her gray eyes are phantom-like, drained of light and color.

“The human. The one they arrested.” I stare at her hard. “Does Theo have a brother in Infinity?”

Shura looks at the ground. “His name is Martin. I’ve never met him, but I’ve heard stories. Theo and him—they died in a car accident together. But they were separated at Orientation.” She looks up weakly. “Theo never knew what happened to him, or which court he was sent to.”

“And now he knows his brother took the pill,” I finish for her.

Shura nods.

The screaming from the house turns to a guttural sob, and we arrive on the doorstep at the same time as Annika. Her braids are tied up with her usual yellow scarf, and a flash of Eliza’s face appears in my mind. The memory pinches my heart.

I try to ignore it.

Annika looks at me carefully. “Do the Residents know? Did they see what you really are?”

“No,” I say, and if it weren’t for Theo’s howls, I might’ve considered tonight a somewhat successful trial run.

Annika lets out a weighty sigh. “Okay. That’s a start.” She steps over the threshold, and Shura and I follow.