‘The northern part of West Virginia,’ Nine says between bites. ‘Ran out of gas, remember?’

‘Barely,’ I whisper. ‘Where’s Bernie Kosar?’

‘Outside. That one is always on patrol. He is one cool animal. Tell me, Four, how did you of all the Garde end up with him?’

I crawl into the corner of the room and push my back up against a wall. ‘ BK was with me on Lorien. His name was Hadley back then. I guess Henri thought it would be good to bring him along for the trip.’

Nine throws a tiny bone across the ceiling. ‘I had a couple of Chimæras as a kid too. Don’t remember their names, but I can still see them running around our house tearing stuff up. They died in the war, protecting my family.’ Nine is silent for a moment, clenching his jaw. This is the first time I’ve seen him act anything other than tough. It’s nice to see, even if it’s short lived. ‘At least, that’s what my Cêpan told me, anyway.’

I stare at my bare feet. ‘What was your Cêpan’s name?’

‘Sandor,’ he says, standing up on the ceiling. He’s wearing my shoes. ‘It’s weird. I literally can’t remember the last time I said his name out loud. Some days, I can barely picture his face.’ Nine’s voice hardens, and he closes his eyes. ‘But that’s how it goes, I guess. Whatever. They’re the expendable ones.’

His last sentence sends shockwaves through me. ‘Henri was not expendable, and neither was Sandor! No Loric was ever expendable. And give me back my shoes!’

Nine kicks my shoes into the middle of the floor, then takes his time walking first along the ceiling and then down the back wall. ‘All right, all right. I know he wasn’t expendable, man. Sometimes it’s just easier to think of him that way, you know? Truth is, Sandor was an amazing Cêpan.’ Nine reaches the floor and towers over me. I forgot how tall he is. Intimidating. He shoves a handful of what he’s been eating in my face. ‘You want some of this or not? Because I’m about to finish it off.’

The sight of it makes my stomach churn. ‘What is it?’

‘Barbecued rabbit. Nature’s finest.’