LaLa clicked urgently and thumped her nose against my jaw. She knew, too: we had to find Nine to find the bones.

“If we knew there was a way to prevent the Great Abandonment from progressing, I’d agree with you.” Chenda’s tone was gentle. “But we must consider our own safety.”

“No one else has to go,” I said. “We can take measures to protect everyone, but sooner or later, someone—not just Tanhe—is going to recognize me and ask questions. I’d rather do this on my terms.”

The others were quiet a moment, and finally Ilina nodded. “All right. We’ll find out when the meetings will be.”

Hristo just sighed, but he didn’t fight me again.

“One problem.” Chenda studied my face. “There’s a false Hopebearer somewhere out there.”

Tirta. When I’d refused to follow their orders, the Luminary Council dressed her up as me. And people had believed the charade.

“Then we find her,” I said. “We’ll put her in a closet, too.”

“Our closets are getting awfully crowded.” But Gerel smiled a little, clearly pleased to have a task. Without waiting for anyone, she marched into the boys’ room and threw open the closet door where we’d been keeping Altan.

The rank odor of unwashed warrior filled the room.

Ilina made a faint retching noise. “Don’t you let him bathe?”

Hristo shrugged. “We let him out to relieve himself, but this is a desert. The sign in the washroom says not to waste water.”

“Consider this a necessity,” she said. “Tanhe is going to kill us when he finds out we’ve been keeping dragons here, and a stinking warrior.”

I followed behind the others, while Ilina and Hristo talked, and Gerel pulled the gag off Altan.

Aaru was sitting on his bed, motionless, same as he’d been since we’d arrived. As far as I knew, he got up to use the washroom and bathe, and sometimes the food we left for him disappeared, but he was losing weight. His skin, once a warm brown, deeper after all the sunshine, had a gray cast to it now. I sat next to him every day, just being present, but I could never tell if it made a difference.

“Fancy.” Gerel glanced over her shoulder. “Your turn.”

I passed LaLa to Chenda, then squeezed around Ilina and Hristo to stand next to Gerel. She had a hand resting on her knife, but she didn’t draw it. Not yet. Altan’s wrists were cuffed behind his back, and the burn scabs on his face were freshly bandaged; they’d come open during the fight in the ruins and begun oozing something foul. Still, somehow, he stood inside the closet as though he was the one in charge.

“Hello, Hopebearer.” He grinned. The reek of his breath was almost unbearable.

I didn’t waste time with niceties. “Where are Tirta and Elbena?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t I tell you? You can have them when I get what I want.”

“You’re not one of us,” I hissed. “You don’t get to know the things we know. You are a prisoner.”