He shakes his head. “You can be impossible sometimes, you know that?”

“C’mon, Tawni,” I say, pulling her by the elbow the way she normally does to me. I hear Trevor’s footsteps follow behind us, but I don’t look back. Who does he think he is anyway? Yeah, we might’ve gotten into trouble, ended up on a street where we didn’t belong, had our stuff stolen…but I took care of it. My dad sent me down here because he trusted me to take care of things. Not to be watched over by some babysitter who’s “just following orders.”

“Are you really okay?” Tawni whispers to me.

“Yes, now stop worrying. It’s those poor kids we should be worried about. They have nothing, Tawni. They might be little brats, but it’s not like they have any other choice. They’re just trying to survive.” Funny how your perspective can change so quickly. Get a little new information and everything you think can get turned on its head. The brats have become the poor kids.

“What are you going to do?”

“There’s nothing we can do. If we stop to try and help every street rat that comes along, we’ll never accomplish anything. The only way to make things better is to fix the bigger problem.”

“The sun dwellers.”

“Yeah.”

I sense that Trevor’s closer behind us. I whirl around. “Do you mind?” He’s practically right on top of us.

“Just trying to join in the conversation.” He looks kind of sheepish, a far cry from his normal arrogance. I’m glad.

“Private conversation,” I say, grabbing Tawni’s arm again and pulling her away from him, walking faster.

We make it back to the army offices without further incident. “The General should be just getting out of a meeting,” Trevor says, as if he’s trying to be helpful. For a second I wonder why he’s telling us that, but then I remember that it’s my mom he’s talking about. The General. It’s going to take me a while to get used to that.

I nod and enter the building, zeroing in on her door, which stands wide open. “We’ll wait in here.”

Tawni follows me into the room, and when Trevor tries to follow, I say, “You’re dismissed.”

He frowns and pauses for a moment, as if considering whether he’d rather deal with my wrath or my mom’s when she finds out we’ve been hanging out in her office unsupervised, and then shrugs and closes the door behind him, leaving us alone.

I flop into a chair, sigh, and close my eyes. Immediately I start thinking about the supply trucks. If I could just get on one of them after they’ve been unloaded, ride it back to its origin…

“Adele,” Tawni says, her voice motherly with concern.

I ignore her, trying to formulate a plan to deal with the supply trucks.

“Adele,” she says again, more insistently this time.

“Tawni, really, I’m fine,” I say, opening my eyes to look at her.

“No, it’s not that,” she says. Her thin, white eyebrows are furrowed, as if she’s trying to solve a complex problem. Something’s happened that I don’t know about.

“What?” I say. She pauses for a moment, as if trying to work out the right words. “Tawni, what is it?”

She looks at me, holds my stare. “When I went back to find someone to help me I overheard something,” she says slowly, looking away at the end. When she pauses, I wait patiently for her to continue. “I went straight to your mom’s office and the door was ajar. I was about to knock—I swear I wasn’t eavesdropping on your mother—but then I heard Trevor’s voice and I perked up. He was telling her about how you were asking him questions about the weapons, how he didn’t know what to tell us.”

What? My mind is racing as I try to fit the pieces together. “What did she say?”

“She said to leave it to her—that she would handle it.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“I don’t know, but it all sounded a bit…suspicious. That’s why I’m telling you.” If Tawni, one of the least skeptical people I know, thought something sounded off, then it was probably off.

“You think my mom is hiding something?”

“I don’t know, maybe.”

I frown. Perhaps she just hadn’t gotten around to telling us yet. I mean, we’ve only been with her for a short amount of time, have practically just arrived in the Star Realm. Or perhaps there’s something to it. Especially considering I’ve recently learned that my mom has kept secrets from me my entire life.

My thoughts are cut off when the door opens, and the subject of my thoughts walks in. “Adele, Tawni, I heard what happened,” she says, slipping past us and sliding next to me on the padded bench.

“We’re fine,” I say, crushed gravel in my voice.

“It doesn’t sound fine,” she says, reading me like a book as usual. “Plus, your face is a mess,” she says, reaching up to touch one of the welts.

Inadvertently, I shrink away from her touch, like it might burn me. It feels so weird, being scared of my mom for the first time in my life. “Adele,” she says, concern etching her face, “what is it?”

I consider telling her what’s on my mind, even glance at Tawni for support, but then just shrug my shoulders. “It’s nothing,” I lie. And then, “I don’t want Trevor following us around anymore.”

My mom sighs. “He told me you might say that. Adele, I’m not trying to smother you. It’s just, this place isn’t like the Moon Realm. It’s not as safe. You found that out already.”

“They were just kids. And I handled it without Trevor,” I say, spitting his name out like a swear word. “Besides, the last time we were in the Moon Realm it wasn’t exactly a safe zone, what with the bombs destroying every building in sight.”

“Good point,” she says, nodding her head. “But I’d still feel more comfortable if you keep Trevor close.”

“Okay, we’ll use an escort. But not Trevor.” Anyone but Trevor. “I don’t trust him.”

“Well, I do. And trust me, he’s the best person for the job.” If only I could trust you right now, Mom. “I know this is all a lot to take in,” she says. “Why don’t you just relax for the rest of the day, and we can talk tomorrow if you’re up for it.”

I feel like I’ve been punched in the gut. I’ve crossed hundreds of miles of danger-filled caves and tunnels, only to find that my mom doesn’t need rescuing and doesn’t listen to me anymore. “Fine,” I say evenly, standing up and walking to the door. Out of the corner of my eye I see Tawni shrug at my mom, as if to say sorry. Tawni, always the peacemaker.

To my annoyance, Trevor is waiting for us outside. My fury’s not going to go away anytime soon.

“Have I been replaced?” he says snidely, which makes me even more annoyed.

“C’mon,” I say, slinging a pack over my shoulder, “where are our bunks?”

He laughs, but I ignore it and let him lead us down a corridor, up a spiraling stone staircase, and into a large room that’s buzzing with activity.

“They’re done for the day,” Trevor explains, motioning to the dozens of soldiers milling about the bunkroom, changing out of their training tunics, whipping each other with towels, and generally carrying on like members of a traveling circus. They’re all guys, some young, some old.

“Umm…” I say, “…I call bull crap.”

Trevor smirks. “Oh, I must’ve taken a wrong turn somewhere, these are the guys’ bunks. Right this way.”

It would have been a reasonably funny joke if it wasn’t Trevor. We exit the room and make our way down a long hall that runs along the wall of the male bunks. At the very end is a door on the opposite side. “The women will get you all set up and get you to dinner. I’ll see you there.”

I ignore him and push into the room, hearing Tawni say, “See you later,” behind us. Stopping, I take in the room. It’s maybe half the size of the guys’ room, but still contains at least fifty bunks, each about three feet apart, built from gray stone, with thin pads and pillows atop them. Fifty or sixty women are milling about in a much more civilized manner than the men, changing their tunics, chatting away. It reminds me of the Pen. Home sweet home.