She stops pacing and turns to face me. “We can’t do anything without more information. A barely legible one-word note isn’t much to go on.”

“But it’s something,” I point out, forceful. It proves I was right.

“Yes. But it’s not enough.” Before I can argue, she tilts her head. “We’ll do what we can to find out more about humans waking up, but not at the expense of prolonging this war.”

Something fractures in my voice, making the edges scratch. “You’re not going to help her?”

“I didn’t say that,” Annika counters with a sigh. “But she isn’t the only human who needs our help, Nami. And right now, the best way to help her—to help all of us—is to focus on your mission.” She waits while I process her words like underripe fruit. “Were you able to get anything out of the prince? Anything that could be useful?”

“No. But—” I hesitate, not sure whether I’m ready to tell them how the Prince of Victory spoke of coexistence. One conversation might not be enough to convince them he’s serious. Maybe it wasn’t enough to convince Caelan, either.

I need more time with him.

“I think if we set up another meeting, I might be able to ask more questions,” I finish. Maybe I can ask more questions about the girl, too.

“You’re back,” Ahmet says suddenly.

I look over my shoulder and see Gil standing in the doorway, a wad of brown cloth folded in his hands.

“Does it…?” Ahmet looks as if he’s on the brink of shattering, frozen in suspense.

Gil walks across the room and places the cloth on the table in front of him. “It works.”

Ahmet closes his eyes like he’s saying a prayer, and the room goes still. After a moment, he stands and places a hand on Gil’s shoulder. “Did anyone see you?”

“No,” Gil replies firmly. “Yeong is there now, keeping things under control. But you should hurry—they’ll be looking for him soon enough.”

Looking for him. I can see the glass cage as vividly as if it were in front of me now.

Does this mean someone is inside of it?

I take a step toward Gil, ears ringing with concern. “What’s going on? Did you—”

“It’s nothing you need to know about yet,” Gil interrupts, avoiding looking in my direction. Maybe we’ll always be like mismatched magnets, pushing away from each other whenever we get too close.

But I already know about the hatch. Why is capturing a Resident somehow off-limits?