“And at Luna Park, let’s not forget that,” Jeremiah says. “Haven’t you wondered about that night? How one minute you were conscious, and the next you were waking up in my arms?” He chuckles darkly and I have to swallow back bile. “I’ll admit, Kael wasn’t too pleased with me that night, saying it was too risky. But I wanted to meet you; I needed to see if you would remember me before we continued with our plans. So, when he texted me that you were on the ferry, on your way to chase a breakout, I knew it was the perfect time to set up a meeting.”

My heart is hammering in my ears as I turn to Kael and recall what happened that night—as I recall being hit in the head and knocked unconscious. Only, when I awoke, I was never in any pain.

I close my eyes as realization floods me.

Pandora’s infused tennis balls.

Kael had one left.

He’s the reason I blacked out, not the sparking transformer— which I now realize Jeremiah must have damaged, bringing darkness and confusion to the warring Speakers so Kael could knock me out and hand-deliver me to his dad.

Jeremiah continues, “Riley’s appearance made things more complicated. You weren’t supposed to cross paths with each other so soon. And SCARS definitely weren’t supposed to come into play that night. Kael had to improvise, making sure Landon escaped with Riley before he set up the meeting between us.”

I remember the moment when Kael threw the ball at Ward. I thought he’d missed by accident, but now I realize, he was never aiming for Ward at all. He hit Riley because he wanted to hit Riley. He wanted to keep Riley from me. Even the next day, he tried to stop us from returning to Lengard—because he knew.

All along, he’s known that Riley is my brother.

And there’s more. Because if Kael already knew about SCARS, then the “unknown Speaker group” he’s had all the Remnants chasing after must have been nothing more than a diversion, something to keep them distracted from the plans Jeremiah has been setting into motion. From the plans Kael has been setting into motion.

All of it—it’s been one huge con.

“That kiss was a nice touch, I must admit,” Jeremiah says. “The look on your face afterward … You had no idea what was happening. It left you so unbalanced that you didn’t think to question why a security guard would allow two trespassers to leave without punishment.”

He’s wrong. I had questioned it. But … I’d also listened to Kael when he told me not to worry about it.

Just like I’ve always listened to Kael.

Because I trusted him.