“You didn’t want to see it,” he says coldly, “which is part of the problem. You think the worst Infinity has to offer is playing dress-up with the Residents. You don’t see the war—and how urgent it is to stop it before it reaches our walls. Because it will, Nami. One day, even the Colony won’t be safe.”

“I know that.” My throat feels brittle. “Which is why I’m trying to help.”

He lowers his gaze. “The only person you’re helping is yourself. You’re looking for a distraction—a way to avoid being what we need. We’re closer than we’ve ever been to ending this once and for all, and you insist on fighting us every step of the way. It’s almost like you want to drag this out for another lifetime.”

“That’s not true. And it wasn’t my idea to stop playing spy,” I snarl, eyes burning. “But I can’t leave that girl behind. Not when I know she’s aware.”

Gil shakes his head. “We might have our first real chance at destroying the Orb. A chance that may only come around once every four hundred years. If you get caught, or raise too many alarms, we could miss our chance completely. Is that what you want the Colony to sacrifice? Another four hundred years of surviving in this cage, just to save one human?”

“It’s not just about saving a life. It’s about doing what I hope someone would do for me. For my sister,” I say, staring hard at Theo. If he feels guilty, he hides it well. “Helping her is the right thing to do.” I look back at Gil. “It’s the human thing to do.”

He’s in front of me before I can even take a breath, eyes wild and gleaming. I try to pull back, but I can’t move, and for a moment he looks like he could set the entire room on fire.

I feel like I’ve become stone, rigid and void of emotion. Because I don’t know what to feel. He’s so close I can see the angles of his face and the curve of his neck. His lips are pressed tight, like he’s holding a thousand words on the tip of his tongue. Like he’s trying to barricade them in. And then I find his eyes again, hazel and so full of desperation.

He wants this to be over. He wants to be free.

I can’t hate him for that. But for everything else?