“I know. And I know it was in my head. But in that moment, I didn’t care about anything except my brother,” Theo sputters. “And then the Residents showed up, and I had to come up with a distraction. I almost ruined everything. And Martin…”

Annika kneels down and places a hand against his cheek. “You made it back. That’s what matters most.”

“Any of us would’ve done the same thing,” I offer.

Theo looks at me, the brightness splintered in half. “But you shouldn’t. Because that kind of thinking will get everyone sent to War. And I knew better.”

Annika stands. “Let’s all take a moment to breathe. We’ll talk when we’ve got our heads right.”

Theo nods, tears smeared across his face. “I’m sorry, Annika.”

When she leaves the room, I follow close behind.

“We can debrief later,” Annika repeats when she sees me, eyes suggesting she thinks I might need a moment too.

“There’s something else,” I say, my voice hushed. “It’s about Theo’s brother.”

Annika frowns. “What about him?”

I bite my lip. “They’re going to use him as bait. The guards took him to the Winter Keep.”

She studies me, eyes jumping between my own. “Does Theo know?”

I shake my head. “I didn’t get a chance to tell him.”

“Then keep it that way,” Annika says simply. “Martin isn’t the brother he knew. The sooner he learns that, the easier it will be to keep his mind in the fight.”

“He deserves to know,” I try to argue, voice timid. “Because if there’s a chance we could save him—”

“He took the pill,” Annika interrupts, amber eyes hardening. “His mind is gone.”

I remember what Ettore told me about how humans only create sorrow. “But what if he’s still aware, somewhere deep in his consciousness? What if the humans who take the pill aren’t really gone, but just trapped in their own minds?”

“You’re not the first person to ask these questions. But we’ve been down this road before, and believe me when I say nothing good waits at the end of false hope. We cannot save what’s already lost,” she says sternly. “What Martin is now—he’s not one of us anymore. You’d do well to remember that too.”

She steps into her hut, disappearing from sight.

I touch my arm, fingers finding the place where I felt Caelan’s hand against my skin just after the explosion went off outside.

A prince with ice in his eyes and fire in his heart. Was he helping me? Protecting me?

And why would he do that?

He’s not one of us.

No, my mind agrees. He’s not like us at all.

23

AHMET LOOKS UP FROM HIS worktable, peering over a pair of thick-rimmed glasses. “Come in, come in.”