Getting to the roof only took us half as long as it had the night before—likely because we weren’t hauling a body between us—but the climb was no less painful. If anything, it was even more so, given that we had barely had a day to recover from the last time.

What was worse, there wasn’t a way to lash our way through it, as the stairs in the shell lacked a ceiling (unless we were passing a farming department). And we couldn’t exactly use the walls, which prevented us from swinging. So that meant climbing each agonizing step.

My legs were mush when we finally reached the last door, and I took a moment to wipe away the sweat that had accumulated on my face and neck, knowing the air outside would be frigid.

“I’ll come out with you to make sure there’s no one else up here,” Maddox said as she turned the massive wheel on the door. A moment later there was a hiss of air pressure, which turned into a blast, the air of the Tower racing past us to try to escape. I helped Maddox pull the door back against the breeze that formed, and then followed her through the door and up the stairs.

The night was darker than the one before, the moon hidden behind gray clouds blanketing the sky in the distance. Our skies were free from clouds overhead—they always were because of the arid nature of the Wastes surrounding us—but the moon was still low enough that it hadn’t broken through the faraway cloud cover. We stepped onto the roof and spun around, looking for a sign of anyone else being up here.

It took us a few minutes to clear the roof—we wound up walking a small perimeter around the immediate area just to make sure no one was eavesdropping—and then Maddox disappeared back inside. As soon as the door was closed, I took a deep breath and pulled out the black device Thomas had shoved into my hands before we left the ship.

It took me a second of studying it to spot the “on” button at the top, and I pressed my thumb over it. The button didn’t move, and on closer examination, I realized that it slid to one side. Feeling stupid, I quickly clicked over, and then squeezed the large button that read “to talk” on the side.

“This is Liana Castell, calling for Alex Castell.” I said into the device. I stared at it for several seconds, wondering if it was supposed to light up or have some sort of digital interface that would indicate the message had been sent. Instead, all it did was make a static sound.

I stared at it for a few more seconds, and then tried again. “I repeat, this is Liana Castell, calling for Alex Castell. Alex, are you receiving me?”

More static. Maybe I was using it wrong? Or maybe he wasn’t next to his? Or what if the Tower was still interfering with the signal? We’d never tested it, so how could I tell?

I knew there was another possibility, but I wasn’t ready to jump to it yet. I didn’t want to believe that Melissa and Thomas had hurt him. Instead, I tried again. “This is Liana Castell, trying to reach Alex Castell or any representative of Patrus. Please respond.”

Nothing. I waited for a long time, much longer than I had before, staring at the black box while a wave of helpless frustration came over me. “I knew letting you go was a bad idea,” I muttered, letting go of the talk button in irritation.

There was a pop of louder static, followed by “…Your damn finger off the button so you can hear me!” in my brother’s voice.

It took me a second to decipher his statement, but once I did, I flushed with embarrassment. The rudimentary machine required me to press the button when I wanted to talk and let go of it when I was done, so I could hear the reply. How was I supposed to know that? They had just shoved it into my hands with almost no explanation.

Unless they had explained it, and I had been so preoccupied by the fact that my brother was leaving me that I had missed it. “Sorry,” I said, pressing the button again. “This technology is new to me.” I let go of the button.

“I know. There’s a lot of stuff here that’s new for me. I’m hiding out in my room, actually. I… um… got a little sick.”

“Are you okay?” I asked, instantly concerned. “What happened?”

“Motion sickness,” he replied, his voice colored with embarrassment. “Both in their airship and in these things they call cars. I really did not enjoy that experience at all.”

I laughed in delight, imagining what it must’ve felt like to ride in a car. I couldn’t believe they were still being used! It was just so far-fetched, and I couldn’t help but to ask the myriad of questions that came bubbling out of me. “They have cars? What are they like? What about where they live? What is it like?”

He laughed through the speaker, and I realized he had pressed the button so I could hear his response. The sound made me wish he was here, if only so I could wrap my arms around him and reassure myself that he was okay. “They’re cramped and small,” he replied. “Mine came complete with some older woman named Magdelena, who was a little scary. Apparently, she’s a general in the Patrian army. She had a lot of questions for me about the Tower.”

“About our defenses?” I asked, alarmed. I didn’t like the idea of someone from the Patrian military asking anything about the Tower. Who knew what they were planning? They talked about trying to imitate our technology, but what if they decided it was easier to steal it?

“Um, no, about our lives there. She was writing up a report for Prime Chancellor Croft, and wanted a description of our society and how we did things—whether we had a justice system, how the people were treated, our system of government… I told her about the ranking structure, the council, the expulsion chambers. But I left out a lot.”

“Good,” I said, relieved that none of the questions had been about our technology. I wasn’t comfortable giving them information on that front. I wanted their help, not to give them information that they could possibly use to attack us, on the off chance they had been lying to us. “It’s a petition for refugee status, not an invitation for war.”

“I don’t think they’re like that, Lily,” he said a second later. “They didn’t press for me to tell them anything more than I was willing to share, but then again, I was brought to the capitol building in a covered truck with armed guards. Even my room is nice, but I’m not allowed to go anywhere without an escort. Both sides are keeping secrets, and it seems to me that they expect it. I get the sense that they won’t press too hard either way; it’ll be how forthcoming I am about our situation that will be the deciding factor for them, not what technology I can procure for them.”

“Does it feel… unsafe?” I asked him. I didn’t like the idea of my brother being monitored at all times, but at the same time, if I had an outsider in the Tower, I wouldn’t allow them to go anywhere unsupervised, either.

“No, no, no. I can come and go as I please, even in the middle of the night. I just have to have a little company. And the guards aren’t bad. They’re pretty curious about me and are willing to talk. I don’t sense anything like what I sensed in the Tower. Even Magdelena was sweet, in her own terrifying way.”

“Can you give me an example?” I asked, not able to imagine anything like what he was talking about.

“Well, um… after I told her about how I shot Baldy and my rank dropped, she said something along the lines of, ‘That’s too bad, seems to me that you were defending your sister and that stupid net thing of yours just didn’t get it. Still, try that crap here, and I’ll kick your ass all the way back there and leave you and your friends to rot.’”

I laughed, remembering to press the button down before I was done. “Wow—at least they are honest?”

“I mean, yeah. Brutally so, at times. They told me that they’ve only ever accepted sixty refugees: a small community of survivors who had run out of water and food, and the remnants of a settlement who had barely escaped that skirmish in the south... Anyway, I’m supposed to get a briefing soon, which is supposed to explain what the next few days will hold for us. I’m trying to get them to accelerate the process. I think it’s helped that the files are digitized. I get the feeling that the other civilizations aren’t as advanced as us—but it takes time. And I’m apparently meeting with Thomas and Melissa’s mother, and she’s their head of internal security, which I am guessing is code for being in charge of all the spies, so no pressure on that front.”

A spy? That meant she was good at interrogating people. My brother needed to be careful about what he said. I knew he knew that, but I said, “Be careful,” anyway.

“I will be, don’t worry. Anyway, what’s going on with you? Is Eric okay?”

“He’s fine,” I told him. “Already up and trying to help out.”

He chuckled. “That must be driving Zoe crazy.”

“It is,” I replied. Then I sighed. “They’re all really excited about getting away from here.”

There was a pause that made me nervous for a handful of seconds, as I wondered if we had lost the connection. Then he said, “You sound like you’re not.”

I bit my lip, glad he couldn’t see my face. “I’m not… without excitement. I just… feel weird about leaving things unfinished.” I swallowed, worried that my brother would pick up on the fact that I wasn’t actually planning to leave, but before I could embellish my answer, he said tersely, “That sounds like you’re planning on staying. Which is madness.”

Sadness gripped me, then, and I realized that no matter what I said, I wasn’t going to get my brother to agree that fighting for the Tower was the right move. He had already abandoned it in his mind, back when he agreed to go in the first place.

Well, he might not agree, but I didn’t care anymore. I would let him know I was staying and let him know why.

“I’m not crazy, Alex,” I told him. “I just care about what happens to the people who have no idea that the Tower is on the verge of falling apart. I’m a councilor—the Champion. I owe the Tower more than just leaving them to rot. Mom found out that Scipio was broken and wanted to help me save him, and if I don’t stop the people who killed her, then all of this will have been for nothing.”

It took him a few moments to get it, but when it finally sank in, his response was what I’d expected. “Liana, she gave her life saving Dad, and you and I both know that he didn’t believe you. Her death was stupid. It didn’t achieve anything monumental, and running around the Tower trying to avenge her isn’t going to solve anything.”

“You’re one to talk,” I snapped back, rankled by the way he could just dismiss her death like that. “You went insane where Baldy was concerned. You beat him, for crying out loud. Don’t tell me you were unaffected by her death when you were clearly looking for someone to punish.”

Silence again, followed by, “You’re right. I was. Which was why I needed to get out of the Tower. Don’t you see that living like that is poisoning us? I killed him, Liana, and I was happy he was dead. If that’s not sick, I don’t know what is. And yeah, maybe I don’t want to fight for the Tower, but for good reason. It’s impossible! The legacies are everywhere and can literally change their faces! They’ve been attacking Scipio for years! Do you think you’re the only one who has ever gotten this close to the truth? Do you think they would hesitate to kill you and everyone with you the instant they learned that you were drawing close? Dammit, Liana, there is no one there who can protect you! Scipio is damaged beyond belief and can’t be fixed!”

“You don’t know that,” I retorted hotly. “And by digging, I’ve managed to find some of his missing pieces.” I paused and realized that we were talking about Scipio on the open airwaves, and that the Patrians could be monitoring his call. “We shouldn’t be talking about this. I’ve made my decision, but I want you to keep working on getting the others over there. They want to leave.”

“You’re really serious,” he said. “Liana, don’t throw your life away on that place. You don’t have to! We have another choice.”

I smiled bitterly and looked at the stars. “I realize that. And this is what I’ve chosen.”

“So basically, you’re saying that if I negotiate this deal to include you, it won’t matter because we won’t ever see each other again, save for when Thomas and Melissa bring me back to rescue everyone else, but you?”

I hesitated. “You don’t know that. I might be able to get the Tower back on track and Scipio restored. We can bring the matter to the new council, and who knows, maybe start diplomatic relationships. If there’s a war to the south, now is a time for making allies.”

“Or you could die, which would mean I won’t ever see you again,” he said hotly. “Dammit, can’t you just stop being brave for once in your life? Can’t you put yourself before complete and total strangers? I don’t want to be here alone.”

His anger had evaporated in the middle of his line of questioning, turning into a desolate sadness. My heart ached, and I knew he was coming from a place of love. But that didn’t mean a damn thing if I couldn’t love myself—and if I abandoned the Tower, I would absolutely loathe myself. “I’m sorry, Alex,” I said, trying not to cry. “But I can’t do it. I wish I could. I wish I was a different person. But I’m not. I have to stay and fight—it’s who I am.”

I waited for his response for what felt like eternity, holding back my tears. I wasn’t sure what I expected from him, but I knew what I feared the most: his anger and hatred. I didn’t want to lose my brother. If anything, I wanted him to get his head right and come back to help. But I had just told him I prioritized other people over him, and there was no predicting how he would react.

“I see.” A pause, just long enough for me to perceive absolutely nothing about his emotional state from his tone, followed by, “I should go. I have an early start in the morning.”

“Alex…” I trailed off, searching for something to say, but I wasn’t even sure what I could say. He didn’t sound angry, or sad, or upset, or… like anything at all. Just very matter-of-fact. After several long seconds, I whispered, “You know I love you, right?”

“I know. But I need time to think about this. I mean, you should’ve told me you didn’t plan to leave. I might’ve changed my mind about coming here! And now I have to come back and help you!”

I gaped at the box in my hand, and then frowned. He had a point, but that last part caught me off guard, and I needed a moment to think. “I’m sorry,” I said. “But there wasn’t exactly time. And…” I sighed, trying to formulate my feelings about him coming back, but could only conjure up uncertainty. “I’m not sure it’s a good idea that you come back here. Alex, I don’t know why your rank dropped like that after Baldy, but I do know something inside of you broke. The instant I mentioned leaving, you wanted to go! I think… I think that’s because you can’t handle it here, and that’s okay.”

“Are you saying you don’t want me to come back and help you?” he practically snarled, and I sighed. That wasn’t at all what I meant.

“No,” I replied carefully. “I’m saying that I don’t think you want to.”

“You’re my sister! I want to be with you.”

“You can want to be with me and still want to be away from the Tower,” I told him. “Those two things can both be true, Alex. But I also can’t handle the idea of you coming back to fight for something that you hate, just for me. If you died or something happened to you, I would never forgive myself.”

“That’s not fair. Just because I don’t think it can be saved doesn’t mean…” He trailed off from his biting comment, and then gave a heaving sigh. “I’m sorry. Like I said, I should go. I have to think about this.”

I hesitated. My instinct was to press on, to insist that I was right and he needed to stay there. But I had to respect his desire for time. Hell, I wanted time. It was best to just let it go. For now.

“Okay, Alex,” I finally said. “I’ll contact you tomorrow night, okay?”

“Okay. Talk to you later. Be careful, Liana.”

“You too.”

The line went dead, and I clicked the device off and sighed. That had gone about as well as I could’ve hoped. Still, I couldn’t help but feel guilty about telling him. Because of me, he was now considering returning to the Tower to help fight. I remembered how broken he had seemed when he talked about our lives here, and I wasn’t sure I could let him do that. Coming back here would kill him on the inside, if not get him dead from a legacy attack. Besides, Sadie was undoubtedly aware of his transfer, and was likely wondering what was going on. If she tried to spy on him only to find out he was missing—and then only to have him return—it would raise a lot of questions.

I’d have to talk him out of it if he decided to come back. It was the only way to keep him safe. And if that didn’t work, and he did arrive on my doorstep, I’d have to knock him unconscious and send him back with the others. He might spend the rest of his life in Patrus hating me, but at least he would have a life.

Decision made, I turned to go back inside, pointedly ignoring the lone voice inside of me that told me the path I was taking was a very lonely one indeed.

It was right, so why argue?