Out of sync. That feels like the anthem of my life.

“Let’s try again, shall we?” Pandora says eagerly. “Another battle, but new abilities for this scenario. How about—”

“Sorry to interrupt,” comes a voice from my left, and a moment later Jet appears out of thin air, panting lightly. If not for the clear indication that she hurried here, I might have wondered how long she’d been standing amongst us, cloaked by her ability. “Arryn wants to see you. Liana’s had a vision about a possible new breakout.”

I straighten at the term—“breakout”—knowing that Jet means a new teenage Speaker having come into their power.

Keeda’s forehead crinkles. “Possible? She’s not sure?”

Jet shakes her head quickly, the freckles dusting her young face blurring with the movement. “Something about this one feels strange to her. She can’t decide if it’s a false alarm or not.”

“That’s not like Liana,” Pandora mutters. She looks at Keeda and says, “We’d better go and see what’s happening.”

Keeda utters a sound of agreement, and the two begin striding off after Jet, who vanishes again as she hurries back along the tunnel.

Cami and I make to follow them, but Keeda turns to us and says pointedly, “See you later.”

“But—” Cami starts to argue.

“Sorry, Cam,” Keeda says. “Arryn won’t be happy if we bring you along. A potential breakout has nothing to do with you, anyway. Just head back to your room and we’ll drop by again when we’re done.”

And with that she leaves, trailing after Pandora and the again-cloaked Jet.

Cami and I are left staring at them, both of us stewing in silence.

“‘Head back to your room’?” Cami repeats, all but spitting as she faces me. “Did she really just send us to our room like children?”

I’m too angry to respond. Instead, I ask, “Who’s Arryn?”

Cami has been conscious for the entire six days, unlike my limited three, so I’m hoping she has an answer. But all she says is, “No clue.”

And just like that, both of us wilt, aware once again that we’re trapped in the catacombs, reliant on the Remnants for information.

We might as well still be locked up at Lengard.

CHAPTER TWO

When Cami and I finally simmer down, we leave the training cavern and head to our room. We’ve missed dinner but neither of us is hungry, so we silently get ready for bed. Sleep does not come easily to me, and I toss and turn for hours, worrying about our friends at Lengard, wondering about my parents, agonizing over my Speaking power.

Just as I finally begin to drift off, I’m jolted awake by a sound from the tunnel beyond our doorway.

Footsteps.

Hurried footsteps.

And voices, too.

One voice rises above the rest, and despite it being muffled through the door, I recognize it as Kael’s.

“… to be quick or they’ll get there first again and we won’t have a chance to …”

His words fade along with the footsteps as he and the others move out of hearing range. Given what Jet said earlier, I’m guessing they’ve decided to act on Liana’s vision and hunt down the breakout Speaker, aiming to find them before Lengard sends out a team with the same purpose. Whoever finds the teenager first will determine what they learn about the Speaker world—the lies Lengard will tell, or the truths the Remnants will reveal. If the Remnants get to the breakout first, the teenager will remain free. If Lengard gets there first … then the breakout will go through “initiation” and be tested mentally and physically—by Vanik. They will be yet another pawn in his army, another Speaker at his command.