Kara listened carefully to Marcus’ story as he summarized the events leading up to her kidnapping. For the most part, she just let him talk. He told her about stealing a drive from his brother, hiding it from his team, and traveling to Kalin Bay. He briefly explained what had happened when her building burned from his perspective. Piece by piece, things started to click together.

  It became clear why Teorin had been so angry with Marcus. It was also clear that Marcus wasn’t entirely comfortable with his actions over the last few days, but he didn’t entirely seem to regret them either.

  He and Isi were definitely on the same page with their trust-no-one mentality. Of course, here they were, explaining to her. The question was why.

  Marcus hesitated when he got closer to the present. “So, when you and Teorin glided away, I followed you. I watched. The thing was, I had just stolen the drive, which from everyone else’s perspective was a major failure. I needed a win. If too many things went wrong all at once, that was going to raise some major red flags. You’d seen the pages. We knew that. We needed the information, and we needed a win. So, when Siera ordered us to kidnap you, we did.”

  Kara just blinked at him for a second. She had to let those words sink in. “That’s it? That’s your reasoning?”

  Marcus ran a hand through his hair. “We didn’t trust Novem—”

  “So you burned my life down instead?” The words came out harsher than she meant, but she didn’t take them back.

  “If it hadn’t been us, it would have been the Ribeiros,” Marcus said defensively.

  “Oh, and that makes it okay?”

  “No. It—” Marcus let out a frustrated breath. “Fine. We were selfish. You’d seen the pages. If you vanished with them, we’d never get access. So yes, part moral choice, part survival. At least, we didn’t send a Heatsinger after you.”

  “Oh, what moral high ground.” Then the words really sank in. Kara’s stomach plummeted. “Wait. You sent the Heatsinger?” The words felt thick in her mouth. She hadn’t questioned it before. Now, it all seemed so obvious.

  “Technically,” Marcus said. “I didn’t send anyone. I wasn’t in charge.”

  Kara’s jaw clenched. “Siera said that the Ribeiros hired the Heatsingers. That one of them burned my brother.”

  “Oh.” Marcus exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair again. “That.”

  At the same time, Isi let out a sharp laugh from where she was still seated on the floor. “What a lie that was!”

  “What happened? What happened to my brother?” Kara said sharply.

  Marcus closed his eyes. “He… was burned pretty badly. By Sasha. He was trying to protect those pages, and Sasha caught him.”

  Kara’s chest tightened, breath short. Lev. Lev was hurt because she had chosen to stay. Because he was trying to protect the pages. He didn’t even care about them. He just knew she did.

  And now, he had flames burned into his memory because of her.

  Anger flared in her chest, and she turned on Marcus and Isi, hands curling into fists. “And you led them straight to us?”

  “You think I wanted her there?” Marcus hissed. “My brother was on that roof too. I watched her play with him like a cat with a mouse, and I couldn’t do anything.”

  “You just watched?” Kara said, trembling. “You watched her hurt my brother? Teorin?”

  “I tried to protect him. I warned you—”

  Kara froze as the pieces clicked together. “You sent that pulse in the alleyway. The one before everyone cornered us.”

  “Yes.”

  She glared, leaning forward in the chair. “And then you let us walk into a trap.”

  “No. Yes. I—”

  “You’re a coward, Marcus.”

  For a moment, the room was dead silent. Then Marcus sucked in a sharp breath. “I…” The word broke, and nothing followed. He sat frozen, staring at the floor.

  Isi finally shifted from her position on the floor, turning to fully face Kara. Her gaze was sharp, but the words were soft. “He did it for me.”

  Kara raised an eyebrow.

  “The drive Marcus stole? It was for me. Sasha didn’t trust him after that, but if he had walked away things might have been worse. Siera still would have sent people. You still would have been in danger. Those people who surrounded you? They were Ribeiro Clan. If he hadn’t warned you, you wouldn’t even have made it to the tower.”

  “You still kidnapped me!” Kara said, pushing to her feet.

  “And then came clean about it,” Isi said, rising too. “You think the Ribeiros would do the same? Think that Heatsinger that burned your brother would? There was no clean play. Not this time. Not with Sasha. Not with the Ribeiros. Was there another choice? Sure. We had options. Every one of them dirty. I’m doing the best with what I’ve got.”

  “That’s convenient, isn’t it? You get to play savior and victim at the same time.”

  Isi let out a grim laugh. “I’ll switch you places whenever you want. Take my life, and I’ll take yours. I’d love to never have to make a call like that again. But don’t pretend you don’t know what it’s like when the mission comes first. When you didn’t come up to the roof with Teorin, I found you. I heard your brother beg you to walk away. You didn’t. Why?”

  Kara flinched. “It… it was important. People deserve to know what’s in those pages. I couldn’t just walk away.”

  “Yeah. I’ve been walking that knife’s edge for years. Doesn’t make it easier, so good luck to you, sweetheart.”

  Kara turned away from Isi, breathing deeply. She hated this. Working with the people who had hurt her? Who had hurt Lev?

  But she couldn’t deny that they weren’t pulling punches. That this seemed like truth. Who would choose lies that cost this much to speak? Marcus looked like he might shatter.

  She didn’t agree with what they’d done. She wasn’t sure she could forgive them, but maybe they were chasing the same truth.

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  Kara whirled back to face them. Isi was still just standing there, waiting.

  “What’s on that drive?” Kara asked sharply. “The one that’s apparently worth burning my brother to you.”

  Marcus and Isi glanced at each other.

  “We don’t totally know,” Isi said. “I decrypted part of it, but… Trevor didn’t want any single group having access. We are sort of toeing the line between everyone involved here. The other half of the encryption key is missing. I think he stored it in Novem’s system.”

  Kara’s fingers dug into her leg. “So, you have nothing.”

  Isi raised an eyebrow. “Nothing that interests me at the moment, but you might be pretty shocked by what’s there.”

  Kara glared.

  “I’m serious,” Isi said. “Let’s just say while it doesn’t give Enigma an identity, it’s almost as close as you can get to proof they exist without actually finding them.”

  “So, what is it?”

  Isi shifted her weight, frowning. “You seem like a primary source sort of person. Tell you what, I’ll get the files to you. You can watch them yourself and decide. Better than me describing evidence you wouldn’t really believe anyway.”

  Kara paused. She couldn’t exactly object to that. “Fine.” She glanced from Isi to Marcus again. “So, how do you access the rest? Find out if it was really worth ruining my life over.”

  Isi smirked as Marcus grimaced. “Oh, we know exactly how,” she said. “It’s just… not simple. I need to steal the key. Or I need someone in Novem to help.” Isi shot a subtle glare at Marcus. It was quick. If Kara hadn’t been paying attention, she would have missed it.

  Marcus. Teorin. That’s what Isi had been complaining about before. Isi thought Teorin was her way into that drive, and if that was the case…

  Kara drew a slow breath. “Is Lev okay? Where is he?”

  Isi shrugged. Kara looked at Marcus.

  He let out a long breath. “I don’t know. I had to leave. I just know he was alive. The burns weren’t fatal. Painful, yes, but if they got him to a doctor…” His voice wavered. “He’ll survive.”

  Marcus hesitated, then added, softer, “Teorin wouldn’t let him die. He was panicked when Lev got hurt, and he’s… he’s a good kid. Lev will be okay.”

  Kara’s jaw stayed tight. The words rang true, but even if Teorin took Lev to a doctor…

  They didn’t understand. Lev looked strong, but he was in danger the moment they took her. If she wasn’t there to steady him—if no one understood what he needed—he would unravel fast.

  Isi chimed in again from the floor. “I can find out what happened to him if it’s important to you.”

  “It is,” Kara said, her voice sharp. “I need to know he’s okay. Where he is.”

  Because if he was detained, if no one understood… And he was so stupidly stubborn. He’d hide it. He always hid it. What if he refused to go to Mom or Rhett until it was too late?

  Calm. She had to figure this out. Couldn’t fall apart right now.

  She had to get word to him. Something sharp enough to make him go home.

  And standing in front of her were two guilty people who couldn’t be spilling all this information for nothing. “Why tell me all of this?” Kara asked.

  Isi straightened. “Because we need you to understand what we are trying to do here.” She paused. “We want to make a deal with you.”

  She could already guess what they wanted. Isi had already asked: the clues from Novem’s pages.

  “We’ll have to discuss that,” Kara said, hands on her hips. “But the first term is non-negotiable: you find Lev, and you deliver a letter.”

  Isi and Marcus glanced at each other.

  “I was sort of thinking an anonymous message in his inbox earlier,” Isi said. “If you want us to actually check on him, track him down… that’s going to be pretty complicated.”

  Well, they’d caused the issue in the first place. Complicated was their problem, not hers. Maybe it hadn’t been intentional, things would be different, but their choices had hurt Lev. The least they could do was find out how badly.

  They needed to understand. Kara kept her voice level, but her fingers curled into fists. “This isn’t a favor. It’s a debt. You hurt Lev. You owe me. Both of you.”

  Marcus flinched like she’d hit him. Isi just folded her arms and leveled a calm stare at her. The divide between them was obvious.

  Kara pushed forward, trying to keep her panic under control. “I can already guess what you want. Whatever I learned from Novem’s document, correct?”

  “Yes,” Isi said. “Then we need you to translate the rest.”

  “It’s valuable information. I’ll tell you what I already know if you agree to find Lev and deliver a note to him. And you have to agree to get me out of here as soon as you can.”

  “These demands are starting to add up.”

  Kara glared. “I’m not done, and some of them are simply restitution.”

  Isi snorted. “Fine. What else?”

  “To prove that you’re telling the truth… You said that Solterra is holding the second half of the puzzle, but I haven’t seen any evidence of that. Give me something.”

  “That all?”

  Kara gave a sharp nod. “First Lev. Then freedom. And proof you’re not lying. You give me proof, and I’ll tell you what I know. Then if you fulfill your side, I’ll tell you anything else I learn. Deal?”

  Isi’s smile was thin. “You drive a hard bargain.”

  “No,” Kara said. “I drive a fair one.”

  Isi drummed her fingers on the top of Marcus’ chair, considering the offer. Marcus was tense. He clearly didn’t like this offer. Finally, Isi sighed, stepped around the chair, and held out a hand. “Deal.”

  Kara hesitated. Was she asking too little? Isi hadn’t tried to bargain her down. Was she just more desperate than she seemed? Kara studied Isi’s face, but it stayed calm.

  Her hand tightened into a fist. What choice did she have? The weight of the necklace pressed against her collarbone, hidden beneath her shirt. Isi had returned it to her, just like that. Was that a sign of trust? Or just another game?

  Isi raised an eyebrow, a slight smile on her lips. “Getting cold feet?”

  Kara bit her lip. Then she reached out and took Isi’s hand. They shook and Isi glanced back at Marcus. He was watching Isi with what looked like worry. Isi either didn’t notice or didn’t care because she just plowed on. “What do you know?”

  “Evidence about Solterra first,” Kara said.

  Isi sighed, crossed the room, and pulled open the top drawer of the old dresser. She returned with an envelope. “You want something interesting?” she said, handing it over. “There’ve been rumors that Solterra already uncovered statherium. As far as I know, we haven’t—nothing more than trace levels. But six months ago, this surfaced.”

  Kara opened the envelope slowly. Inside was a single sheet of paper. A map. She inhaled sharply. One of the marked locations was labeled in ancient Aralini: Power Source.

  “Where... where is this?” Kara asked.

  Isi shook her head. “Don’t know. I haven’t been able to overlay it onto any known landmarks. But it’s not fake, if that’s what you’re thinking. It was flagged by two different internal analysts before it got buried.”

  Kara turned the map in her hands, studying it. “And how do I know you aren’t just feeding me lies?”

  Isi raised a brow. “How do you know Novem’s pages are real?”

  Kara hesitated. “They reference unfamiliar terminology, but the grammar holds. The context makes sense. It would be hard to fake. This just has two words. I can’t validate it that way.”

  Isi tilted her head. “I can get you more documents. I just can’t promise they’ll be useful. That map is one of the juiciest things I’ve seen. I’m sure there’s more, but a lot of it’s above my clearance.”

  Isi paused, voice quieter. “For what it’s worth, I have to trust you too. It’s not like I can verify what you tell me those pages say. So lying? That would only backfire on me.”

  Kara wanted to believe her, but was that wrong?

  Isi drew in a breath. “I’m not playing games. I’m trying to build something here. A working relationship. Trevor could read Aralini. I can’t. I need someone I can actually trust to tell me what it means. That could be you.”

  Isi glanced at the map again. “And if you are that person? I’ve got more to offer.”

  Kara studied her face. Isi seemed sincere, but sincerity wasn’t proof. Information was Kara’s only leverage. Once she shared what she knew, there was no taking it back.

  Was she making a huge mistake? Maybe. But it wasn’t like she had better options. Certainly not from Siera.

  And if Isi really did give her a copy of the pages, she could keep translating, build more leverage as she went.

  Kara inhaled slowly. “There are two major things I’ve found so far.”

  She hesitated, then committed. “First, there were humans here before the Atalanta. They came with the Old Aralini colonizers.”

  Isi’s expression sharpened, her posture suddenly still.

  “Second, I found a reference to a plant that the author suggests grows only near an underground laboratory.”

  Isi drew a sharp breath. For the first time, she looked almost impressed. “That’s why Novem is on the move.” She tapped her fingers against the chair. “There’s a picture of this plant?”

  Kara nodded. “A sketch. The author was a botanist. If you print out those pages, I can show you which one. After I write my note for you to deliver.”

  Isi cocked her head, seeming to consider this. Marcus’ face was unreadable. “Fine,” Isi said. “I can take you back to your room now. Well, get the material from Trevor’s drive on the way. Write me that note tonight. One of us will come get it in the morning, and I’ll see what I can do to get it to your brother.”

  Kara nodded. She had an alliance. Only time could tell her if it was the right one.

  [Lev] Alright, first off, here is my rent: a post-apocalyptic, cyberpunk sci-fi that (I admit) looks pretty cool.

  BUT if that’s not your thing, if your soul is crying out for something gentle (sort of), healing (definitely), transcendent (without a doubt)... then you can also check out my new release on Royal Road. The preface is . Fic is .

  [Archivist] Remember, any departmental support for this project is contingent on you paying triple rent this week.

  [Lev] I remember. I think it’s cruel, but I remember.