“Could you get inside my head?” I ask suddenly, earning a worried look from Sydney.

Raven shows no surprise at the question, but she leans forward, listening intently.

“It’s awfully coincidental that something happened to me,” I say. “And then I come home to find that Annalise has a new friend.”

Annalise hums out her disapproval. “Actually, Mena,” she says with confidence, “I found Raven after I got the call from Sydney. I was looking up possible causes, ways a phone call could cause fainting, et cetera.… Considering what we are, it led me to hacking sites. Turns out there are a lot of people who want to create and then hack AI. I won’t go into the lurid details, but let’s just say … you wouldn’t have liked their propositions.”

Her nostrils flare as if she finds it all nauseating. I’m sure it is. We saw firsthand what people wanted to do with our bodies, bodies they could manipulate or destroy at the slightest inconvenience.

“And your new friend just showed up, and you told her everything?” Sydney asks. She doesn’t look at Raven.

“Not at first, no,” Annalise says. “I discussed it with Marcella and Brynn. I called you both, but the calls went to voicemail.”

“I destroyed my phone,” I reply.

“Good,” Raven says. I don’t acknowledge her, afraid to give her any more information than she already has.

“My phone works,” Sydney responds. She takes out her phone, studying it. “At least, it was working earlier.” She clicks a few buttons, looking confused. It doesn’t turn on.

“I shut down the lines,” Marcella says, “to make sure no one else could call.”

I turn to Raven. “If you’re such a great hacker,” I start, “how is it that you just happen to be in the same town as us?”

“Luck,” Raven replies, and then smiles.

Sydney scoffs, looking at me with doubt.

“I think you should leave,” I tell Raven bluntly.

“Mena,” Annalise says, sounding hurt.

“We’ll discuss this after she’s gone,” I tell Annalise. “But for now, you need to start packing. We all do.”

The horrible truth is that Annalise has blown our cover. And who knows what Leandra will do when she finds out. We might have to run from her, too.

“I’m not going to turn you over to your fucked-up school,” Raven says. “If that’s what you’re worried about.”

“We’re worried about a lot,” I say.

“I figured. But I really can help.” She leans forward on the couch. “That call you got—it could have been an EMP with a close-range signal. Nothing to do with your phone. But that pulse, echoed through the line, can cause disruptions in your brain pattern. Or the perpetrator could have been trying to gain access.”

There’s a chill down my back. How did she know that?

“What does that mean?” Brynn asks, biting her thumbnail.

Raven tilts her head from side to side, considering. “It means the person is likely close,” she says. “Whoever sent out that signal … They would have been in the school or nearby. And that’s where I can help. This is what I do.”

“Meet strangers from the internet?” Sydney asks. Raven laughs.

“Well, that, and trace codes. Install firewalls to keep them from trying to hack you again.”

I straighten my back and turn to Annalise. She smiles.

“I told you she could help,” Annalise says.

Raven checks the time on her watch and gets up in a purposeful movement.

“Look,” she says. “I’ll let you all discuss this. Either way, I promise your secret is safe with me. Trust me when I say I’m not on the side of abusive men. I don’t even have all the details, but I can promise you I’ll do whatever’s necessary to bury them. It sounds like an awesome Tuesday night for me, if I’m honest.”

Marcella covers her laugh from the other end of the couch.

“But you let me know.” Raven walks over to Annalise and gives her a quick hug before heading to the door. “And keep me updated on your pain level,” she says quietly. Annalise nods that she will.

Since leaving the academy, Annalise has been suffering from sharp pains behind her eye, headaches from where Guardian Bose damaged her. We’d hoped it would go away, but the truth is, she sustained fatal injuries. We don’t know the extent of the repairs Dr. Groger did inside her head before he was killed.

Raven looks back at me. “And you,” she says. “If you’re having residual headaches from earlier, use a cold compress. It’ll cool the system, at least temporarily.”

I blink, surprised that she knows I have a headache. Raven leaves our apartment, and the second she’s gone, Sydney walks to the door and locks it. She looks furious.

“Why would you endanger us like that, Annalise?” she asks. But her voice doesn’t hold the anger she’s trying to project. It’s hurt. And it’s fear.

“I’m trying to save us,” Annalise snaps, getting up from the couch. “What if she’s right? Someone close by trying to get inside our heads? We have no idea what we’re up against.”

“All the more reason to be careful,” I say.

“Careful? How about obedient, Mena?” Annalise says. “When has following the rules ever helped us?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

Annalise’s eyes fill with tears. She reaches up to trace the deep scar cutting through her cheek. “You see this?”

I nod that I do.

“This is how I remind myself of what we’re running from. I see it every morning and use it to find my strength.” She lets her arm fall to her side. “Not only can Raven help us block whoever’s trying to hack you, she said she can also help with other things. Including teaching us how to use all our programming. We can become stronger.”

Brynn sits up at this mention. Marcella reaches to take her hand with a deepening worry in her expression.

“We need to figure ourselves out,” Annalise continues. “We’re stronger than we think. I knew that without anyone else’s input. But what if we could be unstoppable?”

There is an allure to the idea of power. I don’t know what Raven can do to help us with that, but she’s obviously convinced Annalise. Which is unusual. Annalise isn’t the trusting type. She’s practical and maybe even a little vengeful. She would have poisoned the entire staff of Innovations Academy if we would have let her. She’s not about to give up her control without a good feeling about the entire thing.

But I’m not quite there yet.

“What do you want to do?” I ask her. “At this point, I’m not even sure we can stay in this town.”

“We finish the mission,” Brynn states. “We finish it so we can save our girls. That’s what you said.”

“Of course,” I murmur. Now that Brynn has put those words out there, I feel like a coward for considering otherwise.

“But we don’t know who’s trying to hurt us,” Sydney says, worried.

“That’s why we need the firewall,” Annalise says. “And Raven—”