“Mr Warner—please, Mr Warner, slow down, son—”
I stop too suddenly, pivoting sharply on my heel. Castle is chasing me down the hall, waving a frantic hand in my direction. I meet his eyes with a mild expression.
“Can I help you?”
“Where have you been?” he says, obviously out of breath. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”
I raise an eyebrow, fighting back the urge to tell him that my whereabouts are none of his business. “I had a few aerial rounds to make.”
Castle frowns. “Don’t you usually do that later in the afternoon?”
At this, I almost smile. “You’ve been watching me.”
“Let’s not play games. You’ve been watching me, too.”
Now I actually smile. “Have I?”
“You think so little of my intelligence.”
“I don’t know what to think of you, Castle.”
He laughs out loud. “Goodness, you’re an excellent liar.”
I look away. “What do you need?”
“He’s here. He’s here right now and she’s with him and I tried to stop her but she wouldn’t listen to me—”
I turn back, alarmed. “Who’s here?”
For the first time, I see actual anger flicker in Castle’s eyes. “Now is not the time to play dumb with me, son. Haider Ibrahim is here. Right now. And Juliette is meeting with him alone, completely unprepared.”
Shock renders me, for a moment, speechless.
“Did you hear what I said?” Castle is nearly shouting. “She’s meeting with him now.”
“How?” I say, coming back to myself. “How is he here already? Did he arrive alone?”
“Mr Warner, please listen to me. You have to talk to her. You have to explain and you have to do it now,” he says, grabbing my shoulders. “They’re coming back for h—”
Castle is thrown backward, hard.
He cries out as he catches himself, his arms and legs splayed out in front of him as if caught in a gust of wind. He remains in that impossible position, hovering several inches off the ground, and stares at me, chest heaving. Slowly, he steadies. His feet finally touch the floor.
“You would use my own powers against me?” he says, breathing hard. “I am your ally—”
“Never,” I say sharply, “ever put your hands on me, Castle. Or next time I might accidentally kill you.”
Castle blinks. And then I feel it—I can sense it, close my fingers around it: his pity. It’s everywhere. Awful. Suffocating.
“Don’t you dare feel sorry for me,” I say.
“My apologies,” he says quietly. “I didn’t mean to invade your personal space. But you must understand the urgency here. First, the RSVP—and now, Haider’s arrival? This is just the beginning,” he says, lowering his voice. “They are mobilizing.”
“You are overthinking this,” I say, my voice clipped. “Haider’s arrival today is about me. Sector 45’s inevitable infestation by a swarm of supreme commanders is about me. I’ve committed treason, remember?” I shake my head, begin walking away. “They’re just a little . . . angry.”
“Stop,” he says. “Listen to me—”
“You don’t need to concern yourself with this, Castle. I’ll handle it.”
“Why aren’t you listening to me?” He’s chasing after me now. “They’re coming to take her back, son! We can’t let that happen!”
I freeze.
I turn to face him. My movements are slow, deliberate. “What are you talking about? Take her back where?”
Castle doesn’t respond. Instead, his face goes slack. He stares, confused, in my direction.
“I have a thousand things to do,” I say, impatient now, “so if you would please make this quick and tell me what on earth you’re talking about—”
“He never told you, did he?”
“Who? Told me what?”
“Your father,” he says. “He never told you.” Castle runs a hand down the length of his face. He looks abruptly ancient, about to expire. “My God. He never told you.”
“What do you mean? What did he never tell me?”
“The truth,” he says. “About Ms Ferrars.”
I stare at him, my chest constricting in fear.
Castle shakes his head as he says, “He never told you where she really came from, did he? He never told you the truth about her parents.”