“Why didn’t we know any of this?” Six asks, still staring at the paused screen. “Why didn’t the Elders tell us? Or our Cêpans? If this is all so important, why keep us in the dark?”

Malcolm pinches the bridge of his nose. “I don’t have a good answer for that, Six. The Mogadorian invasion caught the Elders off guard. You were rushed to Earth, your Cêpans completely unprepared as well. Your survival was top priority. I can only assume all this—the Phoenix Stones, your pendants, the Sanctuary—was meant to be revealed when you came of age, once you had Legacies and were ready to fight. To tell you before that would’ve made your secrets too vulnerable. Although”—Malcolm looks forlornly at his image on the screen—“we can see how poorly secrecy served us.”

“Maybe that’s why Henri came to Paradise looking for you, Dad,” Sam suggests, glancing between his father and me. “Maybe it was time.”

My mind is racing. Without even realizing it, I’ve started to pace back and forth. It takes a look from Six to get me to stop.

“I always thought we’d win this war and return to Lorien,” I say slowly, trying to catch hold of my thoughts. “I thought that’s what Henri meant about restarting it.”

“Maybe he meant here,” Six suggests. “Maybe we’re supposed to restart Lorien here.”

“What would that even mean?” Sam asks. “What would happen to Earth?”

“Can’t be worse than what’ll happen when the Mogs get here,” Nine replies. “I mean, I remember Lorien being pretty sweet. We’d be doing Earth a favor.”

“On the tape you made it sound like an entity of some kind,” Marina says, looking at Malcolm.

“I—” Malcolm shakes his head. “I wish I could remember more, Marina. I don’t have the answers.”

“It could be like a god,” Marina says, a hushed reverence in her voice.

“It could be like a weapon that comes busting out of the Earth to kill all the Mogs,” Nine suggests.

Adam clears his throat uncomfortably.

“Whatever it is, Malcolm said we need the Phoenix Stones to wake it,” I say, trying not to let the group get sidetracked.

“And the pendants,” Six says, then tilts her head as something occurs to her. “Maybe that’s why Setrákus Ra keeps them. They could be more than trophies to him.”

“We went through our Chests back in Chicago,” Nine groans, probably remembering how bored he was cataloging our Inheritance. “I’ve got more rocks and shit than I know what to do with.”

“We should bring it all,” Marina says, certainty in her voice. “Our Inheritances. Our pendants. Bring it to the Sanctuary and commit it to the Earth, like Malcolm said.”

Malcolm nods. “I know it’s vague, but it’s something.”

“It could be the advantage we’re looking for,” I say, thinking it over. “Hell, it could be what we were sent here to do in the first place.”

Nine crosses his arms, looking skeptical. “Yesterday I was staring at the biggest goddamn Mogadorian ship I’ve ever seen. Burying our stuff in some dusty-ass temple might’ve been a cool idea like months ago, but we’re this close to full-on war and I’m pretty sure we’ve got some bad guys to kill.”