“I lost them,” I lie quickly. I can’t let them know I still have Chase’s coin—or a whole box full at home under my bed. I glance at Roth, who smiles gleefully.

The silence that follows my admission slices through me. What have I done? For some reason, I repeat myself, as if I haven’t driven the point home. “I lost them.”

“You…lost them?”

“Whoever has them…killed and resurrected Lily.”

More silence. Elite Cain’s gaze is hard as he studies me, and I get the sense he doesn’t believe me.

“And you expect this child to navigate her duties alone?” Elite Ezekiel explodes. “Clearly she has demonstrated she cannot be trusted outside the walls of the Compound.”

“She will not be alone. Besides, we cannot keep a sixteen-year-old girl hostage, Elite Ezekiel,” says Gwen.

I have suddenly become invisible. Part of me wonders if I can sneak away, but as I glance around the table, I find Mr. Val watching me—the only elite paying attention.

“Her lack of responsibility for something so important should be punished,” said Elite Ezekiel.

“And yet it is the Order’s duty to find, train, and support the Eurydice.” Gwen’s voice rises above the rest. “We did none of those things. Can she be blamed for decisions made untrained?”

Elite Ezekiel definitely thinks so.

“Eurydice,” Elite Cain says in the gentlest voice he can muster. “We are offering you training and protection. We wish to teach you how to use your powers. If you let us, we will be your support.”

“Not all of you seem to be in agreement,” I say, glaring at Elite Ezekiel.

“We are a democracy, Eurydice. Majority rules,” says Elite Gwen.

And as she speaks, more than half the room raises their hand in agreement.

Elite Cain says, “The Order will move forward as planned and train you. In exchange, you will fulfill your duty and lead lost souls into Spirit, so we may offset the power of Influence. Think of it as…redemption for the coins you lost.”

I can’t lead anything into Spirit, I want to say. I don’t know how to summon the gates, but I keep my mouth shut just in case they all decide in the next few seconds that setting me free is too risky. Let them think they have me now.

“This Council is dismissed,” Elite Cain says. “Commander Savior, please escort the Eurydice to the infirmary.”

Shy’s father stands in the small room where a medic removes the claw from my hand. I wince as the prongs come free. The medic treats the four punctures and then binds my hand. Bastian is quiet; the only question he directs toward me is about the bites all over my skin. When I tell him Lily was able to summon the bugs, his brows rise in surprise.