I didn’t have an answer.

I still don’t.

And with every day that passes, her features grow more and more haunted.

She’s upset—I know that. And she’s scared. Not for herself; for her friends, for her brother. For all those we had to leave behind.

I’m scared, too. Because six days might as well be a lifetime.

One hundred and forty-four hours.

Eight thousand, six hundred and forty minutes.

For each of those days, each of those hours, each of those minutes, Vanik could be doing anything. Is doing anything. To our friends—to Sneak and Crew and Enzo.

… To Ward.

Keeda, at least, is here with us. Her cover as a spy for Kael and the Remnants is blown, the catacombs her sanctuary now. She’s safe from Vanik’s clutches, from Manning’s control—not that the therapist’s ability worked on her. I still haven’t been told why that is. But on the list of priorities, that question is nowhere near the top, unlike the rest flooding my mind:

What do we do now?

How do we save them?

What if Vanik succeeds?

Those are the questions that plague me. Because my fears aren’t only for the Exodus recruits—I fear for the whole world. If Vanik manages to replicate my Creator gene and spawns his own Speaking army, then …

No matter how many days have passed, I still can’t bear to think about it.

Then there are the other questions I try—and fail—not to dwell on. Vanik’s taunting words about my parents haunt my mind. The possibility that my mum and dad are alive, that they’re out there somewhere … that maybe they wanted me to forget …

I don’t even know where to begin with that information. But it’s not something I can let lie. I have to know what happened. I have to know why they never told me about my Speaking ability, about their Speaking abilities. I have to know why, for over two and a half years, I was convinced that I’d killed them.

That was another promise Kael made me—that he would help me uncover the truth.

Three days, and three broken promises.

Keeda blows and pops another pink bubble, drawing my attention back to her and the empty cavern we’re standing in. I look toward the flickering flames affixed to the rock walls and give myself a mental shake, aware that I’m not being fair to Kael. He’s doing everything he can to make sure I’m safe here—that we’re safe here. That’s why I haven’t seen him for days, because he’s been monitoring the situation with Lengard closely. Our escape caused a host of problems for the Remnants, including the need for added security within the catacombs. Kael’s looking after us, all of us.

When Keeda says he’s busy, she’s right—he is. And I need to be more understanding of that, even if my patience is growing thin. Kael is my friend, and he cares about me. I know that he will come through eventually, that he will fulfill all of his promises.