Theo snorts. “Only because we lost the vote to call it the Rebel Base.” He gives me a dubious look. “Please tell me you’re not one of those people who’ve never seen Star Wars.”

I manage a very small grin. “I’d hardly call them people.”

His laugh is a deep rumble. “I think you and I are going to get along just fine.”

“Yeong!” Shura calls, skipping forward into the widening space. “You’re needed!”

I look up to see who she’s talking to, and my feet immediately stop moving like they’ve been bolted to the floor.

Even though we’re underground, there’s an entire village in front of me. Wooden huts scatter the room, some of them sitting within the branches of enormous, warped trees and others in rows on the ground. Everything is a combination of wood and metal, and there are seven separate levels with cagelike elevators transporting people from one floor to the next. Hundreds of lanterns hang from one side of the cavern to the other, their soft yellow glows powerful enough to fill the space.

No, not hanging, I realize, staring at the lanterns in bewilderment. They’re floating in the air without any help at all, like fireflies under a spell.

There are people everywhere, most dressed in clothes I remember from the twenty-first century, but others wear tailored suits and intricate gowns that seem to be a mash-up of the Victorian era and Tomorrowland. Most of them seem too busy to notice us, but some of them move hurriedly across the walkways, stopping to peer over the railing with big, curious eyes.

They’re trying to get a better look at me.

It’s a good thing I’m too awestruck to formulate any questions, because I’m pretty sure every word I’ve ever known has vanished from my brain.

A woman with dark skin walks toward me, her gaze heavy with suspicion. She’s wearing a brown leather jacket that looks as if it’s survived a war zone and a yellow scarf tied around a bundle of long braids. Next to her is a slender man with the same black hair and pale complexion as my dad, which makes my throat knot. He smiles when he sees me, and I get the feeling I’ve been expected.

“I’m Yeong, the closest thing we’ve got to a medic.” He starts to reach out his hand, before realizing I’m leaning quite dependently on Theo’s arm. A frown takes over his face when he spots my injury. “Let’s get you to sick bay right away. Introductions can wait.”

The woman with braided hair eyes me carefully but hangs back with Ahmet.