“No one forced me to do anything. Least of all Sora,” I interrupt, trying to pull myself together. “I made a conscious choice.” Appa’s accusation makes me feel protective of the Horangi clan, and it surprises me. “It’s all a huge misunderstanding.”

Eomma’s and Appa’s grips on my shoulders momentarily tighten. It’s clear they have no idea that the Horangi clan was framed by the council. I steal a glance at Auntie Okja. But she is putting on an innocent face, and something inside me kindles with frustration. How can she pretend she knows none of this when she is responsible for so many deaths—including those of my own birth parents? How could she have betrayed me all these years?

Eomma spins me around and holds my face in her hands. “You chose to initiate into the Horangi clan? Why would you do such a thing?” Deep lines are etched into her face, and I have to avert my eyes.

“I did it for Hattie.” I reach into the neck of my top and pull out the heart vial. The whole room gasps and my blood curls at the sight. The decaying must be speeding up, because over half the organ is black rot now. “And I did it for all of us. To stop the prophecy.”

“But why didn’t you come to us?” Appa asks, his face pained. “We’re your family, and families tackle things together. As a team. You know that.”

“I know…” I say, looking at my feet. But how do I explain all the complicated feelings I have? That I love them and yet hate the fact that they kept my roots hidden from me. That I wanted to show them and the council I was more than what they said I was, and prove I could be a Gom, too. How do I admit that maybe I was too scared to tell the truth because once they heard it they might not want me anymore…?

“But it doesn’t matter,” I say, running my finger along the bump on my wrist. “What’s done is done, and now the scholars are going to help us find the last artifact so we can save Hattie and destroy the star. Then all of this will be over.”

“No thanks to you,” Emmett finally blurts out at Auntie Okja, who has been unusually quiet this whole time. Sora, Austin, and Taeyo all glare at her, too. If eyes could scream, Auntie Okja would be deaf by now.

“What is Emmett talking about, Okja?” Eomma asks. Her eyebrows are knit together.

Auntie Okja frowns but stays silent, which fires up Emmett even more.