I try to return her smile even if, now more than ever, I’m aware of the hourglass hanging over me and the fact that “one at a time” isn’t going to work. Not if they want my help—my Creator ability.

Keeda walks off without saying more, and I step farther into the room. There are still so many people in here who I don’t know, but I focus on those I do—Arryn, Kael, and Dante. Arryn is talking to a middle-aged man who is tapping away at a tablet and bobbing his head in agreement to whatever she’s saying. She gives me a welcoming tilt of her chin, but continues talking. I head toward Kael and Dante, who are both staring intently at one of the monitors.

“Anything interesting?” I ask.

“If by interesting, you mean frustrating, then yes,” Dante says.

I let out a weary sigh. “What happened now?”

Kael looks like he’s barely keeping a rein on his temper. “You know how you suggested we look into the footage from yesterday to see if it might reveal anything about the Speakers who took Riley?”

I don’t get a chance to confirm before Dante jumps in, “It’s gone. All of it—completely wiped.”

I close my eyes. “How?”

“It could have been anyone,” Kael says. “With all of the Remnants searching for any scrap of information about this group, too many people have access to this room.”

“It was probably a mistake, someone not realizing how important it was. But still …” Dante pushes the keyboard away, his irritation clear. “Now we’re back to the drawing board.”

While I’m desperate to find my brother, especially now that I know he’s my brother, I still think stopping Vanik is the priority. This new Speaker group is a secondary concern, one that can wait. I only wish Kael would understand that. Even before I was injected with the serum, he wasn’t willing to listen. And now … If he learns what’s happening to me, he’ll surely go into overprotective mode, possibly even locking me in a holding cell just like Ward to keep me from hunting down the scientist.

No, I’m on my own with this. I can’t risk anything—or anyone—stopping me.

“So, I take it you have no new developments?” I ask. Dante’s “back to the drawing board” isn’t exactly inspiring. I hope he was just being melodramatic.

“Nothing,” Kael says. “It’s like they’re ghosts.”

“What about with Vanik?” I hedge carefully. “Any idea where he might be?”

“Nothing since yesterday, princess. Give it time.”

I don’t have time.

“If your golden boy would snap out of it, we might be able to get some useful intel from him,” Dante grumbles. “But he seems content to laze in his cell like a lizard beside a pond.”