Two weeks passed in the blink of an eye, but there was still no sign of Navan. Jareth’s warning weighed heavily on my shoulders. Every time we saw each other on the staircase or happened to be in the same room, I could tell he was growing impatient.

Hell, I was getting impatient. Since Brisha had given Navan direct permission to rescue me, I’d expected him to arrive a few days after we spoke, but the knock on the door never came. Now, I was in a constant state of worry, pacing the hallways of the Idrax house, fearing not only what Jareth might do, but what might have happened to Navan, too. The only thing that brought me any comfort was the flash of my climpet, pulsing steadily.

Then there was Ronad to worry about. If Navan did turn up, and we made it back to the North, I knew there would be some explaining to do, where our former-coldblood friend was concerned. Maybe Brisha would find him interesting. Maybe she would find him disgusting. Or maybe she wouldn’t care. There was no way of knowing with her.

Moreover, Jareth had made good on his threat to bring in a constant babysitter, in the form of Sarrask. We’d overstepped the line of Jareth’s trust, and in doing so we eliminated our freedom. Sarrask wasn’t exactly watching us, per se, the way Pandora had, but he had the uncanny ability to be everywhere at once, wandering around with a book in his hands, or inspecting a rock on the go, or sitting in the living room watching the video screen, or working away at the kitchen counter. Every room I wanted to be in, he was already there. I had no idea how he did it, but he always seemed to be one step ahead, guessing where I’d be before I’d even decided.

It was more inconvenient than anything else, made all the more frustrating by the fact that I was desperate to get down to the basement again. I wanted to sneak back through the passageway to Jareth’s alchemy lab, in the hopes of stealing back the black box device so I could figure out where the hell Navan was. Regardless of the time of day, or where I’d last spotted Sarrask, he would always be just around the corner when I turned.

Kaido hadn’t been as friendly toward me after discovering he’d been duped. Ronad had taken the blame for the deceit, but I could tell it would take some effort to rebuild the bond that had been developing between us. The only sign of him thawing a bit was him asking me to participate in another of his experiments two days ago. He said he’d come and get me when the time was right, but that day hadn’t arrived yet. Even so, I was determined to repair the broken trust between us.

He no longer sat with us during executions, since Sarrask had taken his place. By all accounts, Jareth had switched the title of primary caregiver to Sarrask, so he could be exempt from the weekly proceedings.

Ronad wasn’t faring very well either, with being confined in the Idrax house, under Sarrask’s constant scrutiny. If I’d thought he hated Kaido, that resentment was nothing compared to the ongoing feud between him and our new security guard. Sarrask continued to wear the bracelet that had once belonged to Naya, and Ronad continued to snap at him for it. From time to time, I wanted to bump their heads together, to make them see that they both missed the same person—they shared common ground, and a common loss. What should have bound them together had, instead, separated them.

In fact, I was just about ready to scream in exasperation, sick of seeing the same people and listening to the same quarrels, when a visitor came to the Idrax house. Seraphina had come for Lorela, to see how her health was doing, but it was Seraphina’s health I worried about. She looked despondent and even thinner than she had at the convocation, her cheeks sunken. Her engagement to Aurelius was taking its toll on her.

“How are you?” I asked, walking her up to Lorela’s room. It was a stupid question, but I couldn’t stop it coming out of my mouth.

She smiled sadly. “I’ve been better.”

The hope had gone from her almost-red eyes, and I wanted so badly to offer her good news. As much as it pained me to think about it, I wanted to tell her that I’d asked Navan to marry her. I wanted to give her a glimmer of hope, even though the video feed had cut out before I’d had the chance to explain it all to him. Then again, if I did tell her that little white lie, I knew it might hurt more to have those hopes dashed if Navan didn’t get here in time, or he refused to go through with it.

“Why don’t you just run away from it all?” I took hold of Seraphina’s thin arm and pulled her into a nearby doorway. “You can head for the border, or take a ship and get the hell out of here.”

Seraphina shook her head. “I can’t leave Vysanthe during such turbulent times. If I only had myself to worry about, perhaps I would, but I can’t leave the children. My students barely understand what’s going on, and they rely on me for answers,” she explained solemnly. “If a bomb hit the elementary school and I wasn’t there to trigger the emergency shelters because I’d run away, I could never forgive myself.”

“Surely, someone else would do that for you,” I insisted.

“It is my duty to ensure the education of our future generations. I want them to be better educated than all those who have come before, so we never end up in this situation again,” she said, her voice thick with emotion. “I have come to accept my fate, in the hopes that one of my students will change the future, so this kind of thing—war, and arranged marriages, and all the terrible things that our homeland holds on to as a matter of perceived right—is never permitted to happen again.”

There was something magnetic in the way Seraphina spoke; it was impossible to look away from her. She was fiercely intelligent and had more integrity in her little finger than either of the queens currently blowing each other to smithereens. I had no doubt that, if some young coldblood had her as their teacher, they could very well end up ruling the country, and be far better at it than any who had come before.

“I’m just sorry I can’t do more,” I murmured, dropping my gaze. If I’d just told Navan earlier, then I might have been able to change things.

She rested her hand on my shoulder. “You’ve done all you can, Riley. It will be an unpleasant journey, but I will survive.”

I put my arms around her, pulling her into a friendly hug. For a moment, I thought she was just going to stand there, leaving me feeling like an idiot, but then she let her arms copy the motion, squeezing me tightly.

“I’m sorry this is happening to you,” I whispered.

As she pulled away, she looked into my eyes. “If it wasn’t me, it would be someone else.” She sighed. “Now, I’d better go and see Lorela before my time is up and I have to head back into the city.”

I let her leave, wishing I had the courage to tell her the truth. I felt terrible, having her look at me with such understanding, when I was the one who’d sealed her fate. Trying to shuffle off the guilty feelings, I turned around and made my way back downstairs, determined to reach the basement. I had to find out where Navan was. Maybe there was still time to fix this.

Creeping down to the bottom step, I scanned the entrance hall and peered around the corner of the hallway into the kitchen. Ronad was sitting at the island, with Sarrask padding around the room, lifting a glittering cluster of crystals to the light. This was my chance!

I darted down the hallway, running past the kitchen doorway with the stealth of a ninja before hurtling down the labyrinth of corridors that led to the basement. Unless Sarrask was some kind of wizard, there was no way he could stop me this time.

Rounding the last corner that led to the basement steps, I almost swore out loud as I barreled into Kaido. His papers went flying, cascading around us like confetti. Knowing I’d only upset him if I yelled, the way I wanted to, I bit my tongue to keep silent, feeling the rush of metallic blood in my mouth.

“Riley!” he squeaked.

“Sorry, I was just having a morning run,” I lied.

“Perhaps you should wear bells so people might know when you’re coming.” Kaido ducked down to retrieve his papers, and I sank to my haunches, helping him gather them.

“Hey, you never did come and get me to try out another experiment,” I said, handing him the last fallen sheet.

He looked at me blankly. “Yes, I asked you to participate, didn’t I? Would you be interested in assisting me now, or are you in the middle of an exercise regime? I would hate to disturb your metabolic flow.”

There’s the Kaido I know and like, I thought to myself, pleased we were on friendly terms again.

“Actually, you bumped into me at the perfect time. I was just on my final sprint. So, if you’ve got the time, I’ve got the time.”

“Actually Riley, it was you who bumped into me,” he remarked firmly. “Regardless, if you would follow me, we can get our investigation underway.” With that, he strode off down the hallway, with me in tow.

Ten minutes later, I was strapped into the weird chair with nodes taped against my temples, the tiny needles biting into my skin. Kaido was harping on about side effects and safety measures, but I was too distracted by the glowing plants pulsing away in their tanks. There was something oddly soothing about the way they glowed, like watching a lava lamp before going to sleep.

“Now, if you would just relax, I will inject the serum into your system,” he said suddenly. My attention snapped to the large needle in his hand. A luminescent green liquid radiated in the syringe, making my pulse quicken.

“I’m not going to turn into the Hulk, am I?”

“I am not familiar with this person, though I have never heard of a serum that can transform one person into another, with such specificity,” Kaido mused. “I think you will be fine.”

Feeling anything but relaxed, I sat still in the chair, feeling the prick of the needle as it went into my skin. I couldn’t watch as he pushed down on the plunger, but I could feel something strange running through my veins, as his latest concoction entered my bloodstream.

A split second after, my eyes seemed to sharpen, my muscles burning. I felt a weird sensation in my mouth, my teeth hurting, my brain searing, as though someone had set fire to my cells. A million thoughts and visions raced through my mind, some of them memories from my past, others things I didn’t recognize.

I saw towering infernos engulfing civilizations I’d never seen before. I saw faces of strange, alien beings, their mouths opening and closing, as though they were trying to say something to me. Jean and Roger, waving to me from the front porch of our house. Bashrik inside a gunship that was ablaze, plummeting to the ground, his eyes wide in fear. Angie and Lauren, running across an open battlefield, putting pressure on the wounds of dying soldiers as bullets rattled around them. Navan, shrouded in shadow, his mouth opened in a scream.

The images shifted, and I was in the Texan heat again, watching lumberjacks bathing by a creek. I glimpsed Jethro between stalks of corn, holding Ianthan by the scruff of his neck, yelling something into his face. Then, Angie was beside me, showing me something on her phone, while Lauren rolled her eyes. I could almost feel the sweat and smell the grassy scent of the fields and the earth beneath our feet.

A swirl of shadow and embers tore through my mind, twisting up like a tornado, devastating everything in its path. It scourged the Texan fields, until everything was on fire, the images shifting into something else.

The warm sunlight was gone. In its place, a coldblood on a throne, in an icy palace, a crown of jagged icicles on his forehead. He wasn’t someone I recognized, but there was something about him that resonated in my mind—a thought, niggling in the hidden part of my brain. His eyes were pitch black, with the tiniest flicker of fire within, where the pupil ought to have been.

His eyes locked with mine, and I felt my body disintegrate. A searing pain crashed through my nervous system, the inner blaze burning me up. Looking down, I saw my skin turn to ash, the gray petals fluttering away on an unseen breeze. I opened my mouth to scream, but no sound came out.

* * *

I came to with a gasp of air, clawing every available breath into my lungs. My chest heaved, and I felt like I was drowning. Kaido was peering down into my eyes, a concerned expression on his face. Behind him, Sarrask stood with his arms folded, looking at me.

“Get me out of these things!” I screamed, fighting against my restraints.

“You need to relax, Riley,” Kaido said. “You’ve had an adverse reaction to the serum. This is your body’s way of fighting it off, that’s all. You will be fine in a few minutes, once the reversal serum sets in.”

“You need to get me out of these restraints!” I bucked against them, prompting Kaido to move toward me so he could obey. “What the hell did you give me? And what the hell is he doing here?” I snapped, rubbing the raw skin of my wrists as Kaido released them from their cuffs. It seemed I’d been fighting against them while I was under, too.

“Hey! Don’t talk to me like that!” Sarrask snapped. “I just heard the commotion, and I thought you might need me. I mean, to…” He trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck.

Kaido cast a suspicious look back at Sarrask before edging closer to me. “I gave you the serum I told you about a few weeks ago. It would appear that, as anticipated, it had the opposite effect on you,” he explained, keeping his voice low enough that Sarrask couldn’t hear. He was clearly thrilled despite my discomfort and the unwanted presence of his brother. “I have a feeling there will be some exceptional findings for me to discover. Can you recall anything?”

I tried to grasp for the vivid images I’d seen, but as soon as I reached for them, they crumbled away like dust in my hands. I couldn’t remember anything.

“It’s all gone,” I whispered.

“That’ll be the reversal serum taking effect,” Kaido murmured, undoing the last of the ankle restraints. “It acts as a buffer to prevent your mind from damaging itself while trying to remember things it shouldn’t. I imagine your brain is blocking off sections that the serum may have overstimulated.”

I frowned at him. “What does that mean?”

“I can tell you more once I have studied the raw data,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. “However, if my suspicions are correct, I may have something very special to offer you in a week or so. I do not like vague dates, but I cannot say when my results may be ready. I must say, even from the initial readings, this is extraordinarily exciting.”

“Can you tell me anything before I go?” I didn’t know whether to share in his excitement or be terrified of what the “offer” might be.

“No previews, not until I am absolutely certain of things!” Kaido insisted, his eyes flickering toward Sarrask. It was clear Kaido didn’t want his brother to know what he was up to, and I didn’t blame him. Already, Sarrask had a patronizing expression on his face.

“Neurobotany is a bunch of nonsense,” he remarked as I struggled to my feet.

Kaido shot him a look. “Only to those who do not understand its intricacies. Brains are far more fascinating than rocks!”

Sarrask snorted. “At least rocks can be put to some use. What can you do? Watch pretty lights flash up on a screen when someone eats a twig?”

“Don’t listen to him, Kaido,” I said. “He doesn’t need to know how important your work is. Don’t give him the satisfaction of an argument.”

“The wisdom of your species continues to surprise me,” Kaido mumbled, helping me to the door of his lab. “Now, if you don’t mind, I would like to be left in peace.”

Sarrask smirked. “So you can get down and dirty with your glowing plants?”

“They are bioluminescent flora!” Kaido cried indignantly, and he slammed the lab door in Sarrask’s face. I felt sorry for the poor guy, but I didn’t want to stay anywhere near Sarrask. Feeling woozy, I set off down the narrow corridor, walking through the drawing room and out into the hallway beyond.

“Are you happy now?” I asked, as Sarrask followed beside me. “Why do you have to wind him up like that?”

Sarrask raised a curious eyebrow. “Why do you have to humor him like that?”

“I’m not humoring him, Sarrask. I happen to think that what he does is fascinating, and there’s a lot to be discovered in his findings,” I replied. “He’s dedicated to what he does. You would know that, if you bothered to speak to him, instead of endlessly bringing him down. You’d think, after a lifetime as brothers, you’d have learned some compassion!”

“How could I feel compassion for someone like him?”

I whirled around, bristling with anger. “Because he’s precisely the kind of person who needs compassion. He has been stomped on his whole life because he’s different. He thinks he’s got a sickness he can fix, but that’s a load of crap! He’s not sick at all, but you’ve all made him feel like he is. He thinks he owes his parents something, just because he dares to exist!”

“You don’t understand Vysanthean culture, Riley. He does owe our parents a great debt,” Sarrask countered. “My parents should have killed him as a child, once his mental deficiencies became apparent. They spared his life, and he owes them for that sacrifice.”

I stared at Sarrask, aghast. “Sacrifice? What sacrifice? They let their child live—how the hell is that a sacrifice? There is nothing wrong with him. He’s just wired a little differently!” I yelled. “I may not understand ‘Vysanthean culture,’ but I understand the concept of—”

I didn’t get to finish, as Sarrask swept toward me, his lips suddenly pressing against mine, his hands holding my face, his body too close. Horrified, I pushed him away, shoving him hard in the chest, my eyes staring up in shock. He gazed down at me, looking almost as surprised as I was.

He opened his mouth as if to speak, when a harrowing cry ricocheted down the hallways toward us, shattering the stunned pause that rippled between us. My head snapped back in the direction of the pained howl.

Lorela screamed again.