Jupiter flipped his shaggy hair out of his eyes. It felt strange to see him outside the Realms. Even stranger to see him without drums and his bandmates. “Hey, Aria and Caleb. And, uh . . . hello, Outsiders.”

“No,” Reef said. “Not hello. You can leave, Dweller. You’re not part of the team.”

Jupiter’s eyes went wide, but Soren held his ground.

He crossed his arms. “If Jupiter goes, I go.”

“Done,” said Reef. “Good-bye to you both.”

“Can any of you fly a Hover?” Soren asked, looking around him. “I didn’t think so. We can. Isn’t that what we need? A way out of here? And I want equal representation on this pathetic team.”

“Equal?” Reef said. “There are forty Dwellers in that cave. You are one tenth our count.”

“We speak technology, which makes our tenth a hundred times more valuable.”

A few paces away, Twig turned to Gren. “So are they more valuable or are we?”

“I don’t know,” Gren answered. “I’m lost.”

“Get in there, Jupiter,” Aria said, gesturing to the Belswan.

A dozen heads whipped to look at her. No one stared more intently than Reef.

“Soren has a point,” she said. “It’s smart to bring someone else who can fly the Hover. We should have an alternate pilot in case something incapacitates him during the mission.”

Soren’s expression went from smug to shocked as he realized what she’d said.

Reef’s face underwent the same transformation, in reverse. He broke into a wide grin, tipping his head at her in a gesture of respect.

“Don’t just stand there,” he said to Soren and Jupiter. “Your first-in-command just gave an order. Load up.”

Aria hugged Caleb, promising she’d see him soon, and boarded with them.

The bay doors opened to the cargo hold, a wide, bare space that stretched across the middle of the Hover. She moved to the cockpit at the front with Soren and Jupiter, who dropped into the two seats and immediately began to argue about which button controlled what.

It didn’t inspire confidence.

Leaning against the threshold, she watched them while keeping her ears tuned for Perry and Roar.

She wasn’t worried about bringing Jupiter. He was harmless, and she liked the idea of having another Dweller on the team. The more they could integrate, the better. But Soren was another matter.

Could she trust him? He had come through for her with Talon. But then he’d also attacked her in Ag 6. And she’d trusted his father, Hess, and look where that had gotten her. Then there was Soren’s attitude and his history with Perry. The only thing he really contributed were his piloting skills, and those were shaky.

Soren sensed her watching him and broke off with Jupiter. “What?”

“Are you ready?” she asked.