Gil shrugs his hand off. “That was a long time ago, and it was just kid dancing, in a kitchen, away from people. You’re going to have to find someone else.”

My relief is short-lived.

“I don’t expect her to become a professional dancer in a few days. I just want her to learn how to move lighter on her feet. She needs to walk like a Resident as much as she needs to look like one.” Annika dips her head toward me. “I’m sure you can find other things to keep you busy at the festival that don’t require dancing.”

I chew my lip. “You mean like finding information about the Orb?”

Annika’s mouth curls just slightly. “Right now all I want you to do is observe and listen.”

“There was nothing about an Orb when we did the Exchange,” I say, almost deflated. When she said she’d tell me about Infinity, I assumed she’d told me everything.

Clearly I was wrong.

Shura smiles gently. “We still don’t know if it’s real.”

“If this Orb has something to do with why you’re turning me into a spy, then I want to know what it is.” I look at each of them expectantly.

Gil stares with his arms crossed over his chest. “There’s a rumor that Queen Ophelia stores her consciousness inside of something they call the Orb.”

“A rumor from someone named Diego?” I stare back. “Someone from War?”

“When I met Diego, his mind was shaky, at best. Most of the humans who fought in the First War gave up their consciousness in the aftermath, but Diego was stubborn. Strong. And he’d been there from the beginning, when everything in Infinity changed.” Gil shrugs. “I admit I wanted to believe every story he ever told me. The ones about people escaping and finding a safe haven. But when I escaped, we followed every one of his leads. None of them turned out to be real.”

“Until now,” Shura argues, looking between Gil and me. “Diego isn’t the first person to speak of the Orb. But he knew about the festivals. He said it was customary for the Orb to be moved between the Four Courts, as a way for each prince to share the honor in protecting it.”

I turn to Annika. “Why wasn’t any of this in the Exchange?”

“I gave you everything we know to be true. Not what we hope is true.” She nods to the group. “But I now believe the Orb is more than just a rumor.”

“And it’s like a backup computer?” I ask. “For Ophelia’s consciousness?”

“More than that,” Shura explains. “The Orb is the computer.”

“If it even exists,” Ahmet counters.

“But if it does,” Theo cuts in, “it means the Orb is how we can take down the queen.”

I frown. “You think destroying the Orb would destroy her?”