“We’ll be back on the surface again soon,” Arryn says. “Whatever this is”—she waves her half-eaten sandwich in the air—“it’ll keep us going until we get out of here.”

I’m choosing to believe that’s her way of saying thank you. None of us are running on full power today after the late night we had; the blue light I summoned earlier reveals Arryn’s fatigue, and Cami’s, too. They both have copper smears on their skin and clothes, and I’m sure I look just as grubby, just as drained. But there’s a determination to them as well, their shoulders straight and heads held high—a determination I feel steeling my own spine as I make our food scraps and bottles vanish into nothing.

“There’s a door just up ahead,” Arryn says, striding off down the cramped cement tunnel. My head is nearly brushing the ceiling—anyone taller would have to duck to make it through. “It leads straight into the facility, so we need to be on our guard from here on. The breakout Speaker from last night won’t have had time to pass through the initiation stages yet, so he’ll be in one of the holding cells. That’s where we should head first.”

I think of the small room that I lived in for over two and a half years. The bare, miserable space with the corner pallet, single blanket, and lumpy pillow. I try and fail to withhold a shudder.

“I know that area well,” I say, my voice quieter than I would like. Cami sends me a worried glance and squeezes my hand in support.

Arryn nods but only says, “Cami, can you navigate the corridors?”

“I’ve explored enough in secret that I should be able to manage once I get my bearings,” Cami says. At my questioning look, she explains, “It was frowned upon to … wander.”

That doesn’t surprise me. I was always accompanied by guards, at least until I began my sessions with Ward, when he and Enzo stepped in to escort me from place to place. Even after I moved in with Cami, I still had company everywhere I went, aside from the stealthy outing that led to me being captured by Vanik and then escaping Lengard entirely. But even that required a distraction, one provided by Kael and his contacts on the inside—Keeda, I’m assuming.

“We might know the breakout’s location, but Landon could be anywhere,” Cami says. “I’m not sure how we’ll—”

“Start at the most obvious place—his room—and go from there. One problem at a time,” Arryn says. She raises her arm, squinting in the low light at her wristwatch and frowning. “Speaking of time … we’re running short on it, so let’s change the plan. We’ll be quicker if we split up. You two go after Ward, and I’ll head to the holding cells.”