“Gil’s right,” Annika cuts in sharply, her words severing the friction in two. “Right now your focus needs to be on getting Prince Caelan to trust you. I want you to seek out information about the Orb. Be as subtle as you can. But whatever the prince is able to give up, we need to know about it.”

Ahmet looks as if he’s seen through the veil of another world. Like he’s seen the future. When he speaks, his voice crackles with yearning. “If this works… If we can take out the Orb…” He looks at Annika, eyes glassy.

She takes his hand and squeezes. “I know.”

Their hope ricochets through the room, uncontainable. But I don’t feel what they do; I can tell by the way their expressions lift like their hearts are full of helium, whereas mine feels weighted down by guilt and shame.

It won’t matter how much time I have with Prince Caelan if the Colony keeps going down this path. If they get much further, there’ll be no turning back.

I need to say something before it’s too late.

I shut my eyes and count to three. “If we destroy the Orb, every Resident will die.” When I look up, everyone is staring at me.

“The Residents are a virus. One that we intend to wipe out completely,” Annika says, her words final.

“But what if there was another way?” I blurt out, feeling the burn of suspicion being cast my way. “What if Prince Caelan could be reasoned with?”

Gil’s fingers flex like he’s preparing for a fight.

I glare at him seriously. “If we could take Infinity back without bloodshed, shouldn’t we at least try?”

“It seems like the more time you spend with the Residents, the more you start to sound like you’re on their side,” Gil accuses.

“If wanting peace makes me sound like a Resident, then maybe you need to think about what the Residents actually are.” My eyes meet the others. “I want to help, not be responsible for a massacre. I know there are bad Residents in this world, but there were bad humans long before they ever existed. And if Residents mimic humans, aren’t they just enacting learned behavior?”

“What is it you’re suggesting?” Annika narrows her eyes.

“That we help free them from their hate,” I say. “Because Residents can only ever know what we show them. So why don’t we teach them what humans have never been able to figure out? Why don’t we show them it’s possible to coexist?”

I feel it immediately—the resentment slithering through the room, lashing out at me like a wild animal. And I know I’ve said too much. Confessed too much.