She nods and motions to us to follow her out the door. “Where will you be?” she asks.

“I’ll be right behind you. There’s just one more VP I want to speak to. Elsey can come with me.”

Elsey beams with pride. She’ll always be daddy’s little girl.

Adele and I hold hands and follow her mom out the door. I flash Roc a grin when I see him take Tawni’s hand and pull her along behind us. He gives me a sheepish grin in return, but behind it I can see how happy he is too. It feels weird that we’re all so happy. Somehow it seems impossible. It’s like the crumbling crest of a stone wave during a cave-in, and I’m just riding it down, hoping not to fall off.

My hands are sweaty with fear and expectation, but Adele doesn’t seem to mind. She’s filthy from her trip through the Star Realm, and yet I’ve never seen her more beautiful. She told me about how she almost fell while climbing the wall near the lava flow. I’m hoping it will be her last run of bad luck.

She also told me all about the treachery of this Brody guy, as well as the stranglehold my father has on the other star dweller generals. It only makes me hate him more.

Anna shows us the way out from the tunnel and down the inner Dome stairs, to the platform in the center. The bustle of activity has calmed significantly. The Resistance members are spread around the seating area, creating a thin barrier of protection. The VPs are seated in one quadrant, but in front of their protectors, in the first few rows. I’m glad they’re not spread out because it means I won’t have to turn in a circle to make eye contact with them.

Everyone stops talking when we enter. There’s a pocket of folding chairs on the platform, at the end furthest from where the VPs are seated. We follow Anna to them and sit down, Anna, Adele, and I in the front, with Roc and Tawni behind us.

There’s a guy with brown, curly hair to our right, next to Adele’s mom. He’s literally her right-hand man, I chuckle to myself. Adele gives me a funny look, but I wave off her question and stand up, move toward the guy. “Trevor, right?” I say, extending my hand.

“That’s what my mother named me when the doctor slapped my pale butt,” he says. He grips my hand tightly. “Are you for real?” he asks.

The question stumps me, but I answer any way. “I’m not a specter, if that’s what you mean.”

He laughs and releases my hand. “I just mean, are you really going to help us?”

Now it’s my turn to laugh. “Yeah, I guess so. Is it that hard to believe?”

“Kind of,” Trevor says. “I might have given Adele a hard time because of you. I didn’t really trust you or her when we first met. Did she tell you about that?”

“No, but she told me you saved her life. And for that I must thank you.” My hand is out again, and Trevor takes it.

“You’re welcome. I’m glad I did.”

When I turn and sit down next to Adele, she’s smiling, having watched the entire thing with interest. “He gave you a hard time?” I whisper.

“I hated him,” she says with a shrug. “But now I don’t.”

I don’t have time to respond because Vice President Morgan is standing in the center, preparing to address the audience. “I know you have all been forced to thrust aside your plethora of other responsibilities to make time for this peace summit, but I can assure you, it is well worth your time. We have a grave responsibility to the people of the Moon and Star Realms, which, as you all know, are sometimes referred to as the Lower Realms.

“I know many of you are angry at what the Star Realm has done to your subchapter, wreaking havoc on your infrastructure and even causing the death of many of your citizens, and for that they should be sorry. However, there is a reason for all of that. I know many of you don’t want to listen, want to say ‘There’s no excuse for their behavior!’ but there is!” Morgan’s voice has risen, echoing throughout the entire Dome. She’s a mesmerizing figure even though we can only see the back of head. She’s going to be a hard act to follow.

“But it’s not me that should tell you. It’s Tristan, the son of the President, the one person who should be against the rebellion. Please give him a warm welcome.”

Morgan swivels and sits down next to Trevor, leaving the round platform looking large and empty. I should be nervous, but I’m not. Adele gives my hand a final squeeze before I stand, and I take strength from it. If for no one else in the entire world, I’ll do this for her, right now.

The applause is heavy from the upper rows, where the Resistance soldiers are seated, but more scattered from the VPs. It neither encourages nor bothers me though.

Then I’m in the center of the platform, although I can’t remember my feet carrying me there. I scan the audience, making eye contact with as many people as possible before I begin. I’ve planned it out in my head: All do the right thing and unite the people and rebellion, ra ra ra! but that’s not what comes out when I begin speaking.

“My father raped and murdered my best friend’s mother,” I say. A few gasps and loads of murmurs fall over the crowd. Ignore them and continue. “I just found that out. He told me and my friend himself. That’s the kind of man who’s leading the Tri-Realms. He also gave the star dwellers the money to buy the bombs that destroyed your cities. Oh, and he’s holding the star dweller generals’ families under a knife so they’ll do what he wants. That’s the kind of man you’re protecting by not supporting this rebellion. That’s all I have to say.”

Although my brain is telling me it’s too soon to end my big speech-to-end-all-speeches, my heart moves me across the stand, where I sit down next to Adele, who immediately takes my hand. I look at my feet for a few seconds, and then twist to glance at Roc. I hope he’ll forgive me for what I’ve done.

He’s smiling.

Of all the expressions I imagined his face might have, a smile was not one of them. He reaches over and slaps my shoulder. “Well done,” he says.

Adele kisses me on the cheek, leaving a spot of warmth that lingers well after her lips leave my skin.

Morgan seems so surprised at the brevity of my remarks that she’s unsure of what to do. The audience is restless, whispering to each other and coughing and shuffling their feet. Oops, I think. Perhaps I should have stuck with the planned speech.

But Morgan has experience with unexpected situations and she’s quickly back on her feet, raising and lowering her hands to quiet the crowd. “We have much to discuss, questions to ask and answer, and details to work out, but first, I’d like to take an initial vote to see where we stand.”

I look around for Ben, but he and Elsey are still not back, which is strange because all the VPs are now in attendance.

I watch as each of the VPs writes something on a piece of paper and then passes it across the row, to where someone collects them before bringing them forward to Morgan in a basket. It seems old-fashioned, but effective. Morgan extracts the first ballot. “Yes, in support of the rebellion,” she reads, and my heart lifts an inch in my chest. The ballot drops from her hand and flutters to her feet, discarded. “One in favor, zero against.”

She reads the next one. “Yes. Two in favor, zero against.” My heart is in my throat. I want to rush the stage and grab the basket and frantically read the rest of them. Morgan’s slow and methodical pace is killing me. I think Adele’s thinking the same thing, because she’s squeezing my hand so hard it’s getting sore.

“No,” she reads, and my heart sinks a little. “Two for, one against.” There are still thirty-nine ballots and I’m living and dying by each individual one she reads. I try to relax.

“No,” she says. “Two for, two against.”

The next six are all against the rebellion. I’m no longer holding Adele’s hand, and my head is resting in my hands as I balance my elbows on my knees. “Two for, eight against,” Morgan says. Despite Ben’s efforts with the VPs and my pitiful speech, we’re still way behind, not even close to garnering a majority. These men and women are still too scared of my father to stand up to him.