Because I cannot believe the Mary Poppins voice from my O-Tech watch has somehow transcended into the afterlife and is now controlling the human race with four princes and a weird landscape that shifts whenever it wants to.

My voice cracks. “Why is Ophelia doing this?”

Shura lifts a brow. She’s probably wondering why there’s so much hurt in my tone, but I can’t help it. Ophelia wasn’t just an AI—she was my constant.

“Revenge seems pretty likely,” Theo says, staring ahead. “Maybe she got sick of taking orders, or maybe she just wants to prove how powerful she is. But it doesn’t really matter why she wants Infinity; what matters is that she doesn’t want humans in it.”

I know it’s terrible to wish this world on anyone, but I wish Finn were here. I’ve always been an overthinker, but Finn? He had sarcasm and quippy jokes and a weird sense of profoundness that I think mostly happened by accident. And he’d know what to say right now to make me feel better. To make me feel like everything was going to be okay.

I miss my friend. I miss feeling safe.

Is that even possible in this world?

“Okay, Shura, we’re reaching the next border. Can you veil us?” Ahmet asks.

“On it.” She shuts her eyes and lets out a deep exhale through her nose. An unnatural stillness takes hold of her, like she’s part of a photograph, frozen in time.

I don’t know what she’s doing, but the next time the scenery shifts, we’re driving through a field of grass in the daylight and there’s a cityscape in front of us.

Tall white buildings pierce the clouds, some with embellished spires and carved roofs, others with majestic balconies bursting with ivy and colorful flowers. A maze of dazzling silver bridges arches across the sky, connecting one building to the next, as if the people who live here want to live as far from the ground as they possibly can.

An enormous wall built of polished stone curves around the metropolis of cathedrals, sparkling like gemstones in the sunlight. It’s surrounded by a blend of lake, woodland, and grassy hills, all connected by stone stairs that splinter back up toward the heart of the city.

My curiosity stretches beyond the wall, wondering what could possibly exist in the shadows of such a place.

I doubt it’s anything good.

“Could someone please tell me what I’m looking at?” My voice is hardly a breath. “And how this is possible?”

Shura doesn’t open her eyes, still lost in her meditative state.