I know exactly how he feels. If I ever see my father again, I think I’ll kill him too.

* * *

As I wait for Adele’s train to get in, there are so many things I know I want to say to her, to try to make things right, but I know none of them will help. A thought flashes through my mind, something I’ve almost forgotten about. Something I need to tell her, to tell someone, but it’s so important I can’t just go out and say it. While it won’t necessarily help her with her grief, it might take her mind off of it, which could help—in a way.

The thought continues to tumble through my mind as the train pulls into the station.

When Adele steps onto the platform, she seems better, herself even. The fire in her that had seemingly been snuffed out when Ben died is back. I can see it in her eyes, in the way she carries herself, in the intensity of her hug when she greets me.

To be honest, I’m relieved. While they’ve been gone, I’ve been batting around one question in my head: How do you console someone when your words have lost all power?

That’s how I’ve been feeling. Like anything I say to her just hangs in the air for a second, maybe two, and then drops in the abyss of lost and meaningless words. I guess she just needed time with her mom. The secret I’ve been keeping from her rolls around in my mouth, trying to take shape, but the time just doesn’t feel right, so I swallow it back down.

We hold hands all the way back to the building in subchapter 1 where the Resistance leaders have been staying. No one wants to meet in the Dome anymore, not after what happened. There’s been a lot of good news while Adele was gone and for the first time she seems genuinely interested as I tell her about it. The star dwellers realized their secure prison, the Max, was secretly being used, so they launched an attack on it. They found that sun dweller spies had been using it to hold the families of the star dweller generals. Now that they’re free, the generals are able to lead the people the way they want to, without fear.

In fact, the remaining six star dweller generals just arrived today, along with three or four of their largest platoons. We expect more to arrive each day. They’ll dispatch soldiers to all the borders with the Sun Realm, to protect us until we can prepare for battle.

“What are you going to do?” Adele asks suddenly, interrupting my monologue of news.

I gaze into her eyes, wondering what she expects me to say. “Fight,” I say. “I can’t sit on the sidelines while my father destroys the Lower Realms. I have to help stop him, kill him if I have to.”

“Good,” Adele says. “Me too.”

Chapter Thirty

Adele

We’re sitting around a very large courtyard. Me, Tristan, Roc, Tawni, my mom, all of the moon dweller VPs—both the incumbents and the newly elected—the star dweller generals. Discussing the strategy for the war. I don’t feel like I or any of my friends should even be here. I mean, we’re not leaders, except Tristan. He would fit right in. But for some reason they invited us.

Since my dad was killed, Mom has become the voice of the Resistance. “We’ve come up with a two-pronged approach to fighting this war,” she says, her voice stronger than I’ve ever heard before. “The main body of our soldiers will be used in the subchapters we think are the most susceptible to attack. Although many of you were of the opinion we should attack first, the majority has decided that we will let the sun dwellers come to us. By doing this, we will stretch their resources and allow us to fight on our home turf. But don’t become complacent, these advantages are minor considering the firepower President Nailin will rain down upon us. Any questions?”

Silence. I wait for her to tell us about the second part of the strategy.

“Adele, Tristan, Tawni, Roc,” my mom says, and my heart skips a beat. Why is she addressing us in front of everyone? “We have something to ask of you, something that is hard for me as a general and as a mother.” She pauses, takes a breath, continues, speaks directly to me.

“This is not a time to be complacent. This is not a time for fearful mothers to hide away their capable daughters. It’s a time to be bold, to take risks. Your father trusted in your strength, in your abilities, and now it’s time for me to do the same. God knows I don’t want to. I’ve lost a husband already and my other daughter is in bad condition, but I cannot hold you back because I’m scared of losing you. You are a fantastically capable woman and I’m so proud of you, Adele.”

Tears glimmer in her eyes and I know I’m reflecting them back at her. I don’t know what she wants us to do, but I know I’ll say yes, not because she’s asking me, but because it’s the right thing to do.

“Mom, just tell us. It’s okay,” I say.

She cringes as if in pain, like asking me this is physically hurting her. “We have a special mission for you. We want you to kill the President.”

Her words are like a dark fog in the air, pressing down on our shoulders. It was the last thing I expected her to say. She rushes on, “Without him at the helm, we believe the sun dweller army will fall apart, will lose their resolve. He’s the mastermind behind it all, and if he falls, we think we have a chance. Realistically, our armies don’t stand a chance against the Sun Realm, but this might just give us the edge we need.”

“Why us?” I ask.

My mom sighs. “You all have proven what you can do, and Tristan and Roc know the lay of the land in the Sun Realm, and, well, we knew none of you would go unless all of you go.” She’s right. I’ll never leave my friends again—will never leave Tristan again.

Tristan grips my hand, squeezes twice. A signal. He’s in. “I’ll do it,” I say, my eyes dry again, my face firm. I’ll do it for my dad, for my sister, for my mom. For me.

“I’m in, too,” Tristan says.

At the same time, Tawni and Roc say, “Me too.”

My mom nods. “I thought you would say that. And Trevor and Ram will be going with you, too, as representatives of the Star and Moon Realms.”

Trevor nods at me, a slight smile on his face. A week ago I would have cringed at the thought of spending more time with Trevor, but now grin back. He’s a friend. Not because he saved me—twice—but because he stood by me when I needed him most. Just like Tristan, Roc, and Tawni.

A big, dark-skinned guy, who I assume is Ram, stands, looks directly at Tristan, and says, “I’ll do whatever I can to help fulfill this mission. I’ll even follow Tristan into the belly of the beast. But I’m warning you, if I ever so much as suspect you’re working for your father, I’ll kill you with my bare hands.”

I glance sharply at Tristan, expecting his face to be red as he prepares to fight this Ram guy, but I’m shocked to see he’s laughing. “I wouldn’t expect anything less from you, Ram,” he says.

I guess there’s something I don’t know about their relationship.

* * *

I go to see Elsey one last time before we leave.

“Do you really have to go?” she says right when I walk in.

I sigh. “Oh, El. If there was any way I could stay with you, you know that I would,” I say, sitting next to her.

She’s beneath the covers, like when I saw her the last time, just her tiny head sticking out. Her thick raven hair covers most of the white pillow she’s resting on. Unexpectedly, she twists her left arm out from the sheets and pushes off, sitting up straight. I stifle a gasp when I see the stump of flesh sticking out from the short right sleeve of her hospital tunic.

“Does it scare you?” She giggles, waving the stump slightly in the air.