The next stop I make is to the council room. I know I should’ve come sooner—avoiding Annika doesn’t help any of us. But I haven’t had the courage to face her. Not when I know what’s coming next.

The table is surrounded by empty chairs. I wave my hand at the hologram, shifting my view across Victory like a bird surveying the ground. Somehow the palace feels like a distant memory. I wave my hand again, calling up images with my mind, and find Prince Caelan. His hologram spins, and my eyes latch on to his face. The face of the prince I’m going to betray. Beautiful and stoic, with a kindness few have had the chance to see.

A kindness that may not even be real.

If we’re kind to a hundred people and cruel to one, can we really be considered kind? I’m not so sure. I don’t think kindness is supposed to have limitations.

Annika appears in the doorway. “I was hoping to see you a little sooner.”

I look up, smiling weakly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t feel ready to talk.”

She nods, braids hanging in front of her shoulders and her golden scarf wrapped around her hair. “Shura’s been worried. We all have.”

“Please don’t blame Theo,” I say. “It was my idea to save his brother. I don’t want you to punish him for something that was my fault.”

She takes a seat next to me, tangling her fingers together. “Nami, I’m not here to punish anyone.” She looks around the room. “I think the Residents do enough of that already, don’t you?”

I soak in her words. Her expression. How her eyes fill with life.

“You saw my memories; you know I lost someone I loved very deeply.” She leans back. “I know what it feels like to want to save someone. But I also need to be able to trust the people I send out. I need people who trust in me back.”

“I know,” I say finally. “If you don’t want me to spy on Prince Caelan anymore, I won’t. But I’ll do it for the Colony. I’ll do it to keep us all safe.”

Annika smiles, nodding slowly. “I have something I’d like to show you.”

In one smooth motion, she waves her hand over the hologram and the palace appears. She shifts her fingers, and suddenly we’re looking at its blueprint, each level a clear image, stacked on top of one another like layers of paper. She zooms into the basement, where there’s a chamber at the far end of the corridor, several levels below the throne room.

“What am I looking at?” I ask.

“It’s where they keep the Orb when it’s in Victory,” Annika says.

My heart stills. “You found proof?”