“Pittacus Lore gave me this when he tried to kill me,” he says, his voice cold and level. “I was one of them, but he and the other Elders cast me out. Banished me from Lorien because of my ideas.”

“What? Did they not want to elect you supreme ruler or something?”

Setrákus Ra passes his hand across his throat once again and the scar tissue disappears.

“They already had a ruler,” Setrákus Ra replies, his voice dropping lower, as if the memory makes him angry. “They just refused to admit it.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

This time, he doesn’t make me take a bite of food. He’s on a roll now. “My dear, the Elders were ruled by the planet itself. Lorien made their choices for them. Who would be Garde and who would be Cêpan. They believed we should live as caretakers and let nature determine our fates. I disagreed. The Legacies granted by Lorien are simply a resource, like anything else. Would you let the fish in the ocean dictate who is fit to eat them, or allow the iron in the ground decide when to be forged? Of course not.”

I try to digest all this information and compare it with what I learned from Crayton and his letter.

“You just wanted to be in control,” I say after a moment.

“I wanted progress,” he counters. “The Mogadorians understood. Unlike the Loric, they were a people ready to be elevated.”

“You’re insane,” I say, pushing my plate away, done with this whole question-and-answer thing.

“You are an unenlightened child,” he replies, that condescending patience back. “When your studies begin, when you see what I have accomplished for you and what the Loric have denied you, then you will understand. You will come to love and respect me.”

I stand up, even though I have nowhere to go. Setrákus Ra has been gentle with me so far, but it’s been made crystal clear that I can only move around the sterile hallways of the Anubis as he allows it. If he wants to keep me here and force me to finish my dinner, he will. It would probably be smoother for me if I let all his distortions and half-truths go unchallenged, but I just can’t do it. I think of Nine, Six and the others—I know they’d never hold their tongue when faced with this monster.

“You destroyed our planet and all you’ve ever accomplished is hurting people,” I say, trying to mimic my grandfather’s mocking patience. “You’re a monster. I will never not hate you.”

Setrákus Ra sighs, his handsome features creasing briefly in consternation.

“Anger is the last refuge of the ignorant,” he says, holding up his hand. “Let me show you something they denied you, granddaughter.”

A coil of bright red energy begins to swirl around his raised hand. Nervous, I take a step backwards.

“The Elders chose who would escape from Lorien, and you were not meant to be among them,” Setrákus Ra continues. “You were denied the advantages of the other Garde. I will rectify that.”