He looks past the four of us, as if searching the darkness for someone else. “Where’s the breakout?” At our silence, he adds, “I assume you didn’t gamble your freedom just for Ward?”

Cami purses her lips and I wordlessly beg her to hold her tongue. While we both would have infiltrated the facility “just for Ward,” now doesn’t seem like the time to aggravate Kael further. Not when I’m just as close to losing my own temper.

“Obviously, things didn’t go completely to plan,” I state, waving to Ward’s unconscious form. “He’s still under Manning’s control, and I can’t do anything without him preventing my words from having an effect. I’m hoping you’ll be able to help with that.”

Kael says nothing. He just crosses his arms, waiting for an answer to his question.

I give him what he’s after, through clenched teeth. “We freed the breakout”—something unidentifiable flashes in Kael’s eyes—“but when we got back here, a van of those unknown Speakers arrived and he escaped with them.”

I don’t say that he was “abducted” or “kidnapped,” since Riley clearly knew those Speakers. More than that, he was close to them—We’re here to save you, you big lug!

Whatever flashed in Kael’s eyes has disappeared. I can’t tell if he’s simmering or calming down.

Unable to help myself, I cock my head to the side and say, “I’m surprised your surveillance didn’t catch what happened, especially since you’re so focused on learning everything you can about this new Speaker group. I thought you had cameras all over the zoo.”

A muscle twitches in Kael’s cheek. “We weren’t exactly expecting them to arrive unannounced on our doorstep.” He draws in a breath, as if deliberately checking himself. “But that’s a fair point, princess. I’ll check the footage later. See if we can get any intel off the feeds.”

The fact that he’s calling me “princess” is a good indication that he’s not about to start yelling at us. Which is fortunate, because I’m just as likely to start yelling back.

As if reading my mind, Kael says, “I’m so mad at you—at all of you—that I could spit fire. What you did was reckless; not to mention, you lied to me and disobeyed a direct order.” He narrows his gaze at Arryn, but she only stands taller, and I recall that she doesn’t answer to him.

“What you did was stupid,” he continues. “So, so stupid. But,” he adds firmly when I open my mouth to object, “you all look exhausted, so this is the last thing I’ll say about it. You’re back safe—that’s what’s most important.”