designed to ping out her location wherever she goes, so loved ones can find her.
“Hysan taught me how to disable it,” she mutters under her breath, pouring each of us a glass of water.
I don’t know what to say. I want to yell at Nishi about family being too important to gamble with, and how this isn’t fair to her parents, and they’ll feel so awful if anything happens to her. But Nishi’s the smartest person in this room. She already knows everything I’m not saying, and she still made this decision.
My best friend is making sacrifices for this war, and I’d be a hypocrite if I didn’t understand why. I put my arm around her as she sits down beside me. “It must be hard lying to them.”
“It is,” she admits, her eyes downcast beneath her heavy black bangs. “But it makes it easier, knowing they’re safe. And anyway, with them gone, we were able to bring everyone together.” She looks up, her voice regaining its usual cheeriness. “So we can all be in one place.”
“You mean us and Hysan?”
“No, she means
everyone
,” says Deke. “Everyone willing to fight—whom we’ve been able to reach—is crashing the zillions of rooms here.”
Nishi nods. “Now you can address us all together, and we can train as a unit for whatever the Marad has planned.”
An uneasy feeling prickles my stomach, the start of a panic far worse than the kind I felt inside the cannon. I look from Nishi’s eager face to Deke’s determined one, and I flash back to the moment Rubidum nominated me to lead the armada. I came to Sagittarius to help—but Nishi and Deke asked me here to lead.
Before I can say anything, the swooshing sound of doors opening fills the air, and soon about fifty Acolytes are crowding the bright space. A flurry of dark faces and long-cut, wide eyes blur before me as I trade touches with each one. Like Nova on the flight over, they all ask questions after introducing themselves.
“Hi, I’m Mina. Do you still believe in Ophiuchus?”
“I do.”
“Thanks for coming. My name is Wynn. Do you think Ophius is involved with the Marad?”
“Yes.”
“Chan; nice to meet you. Do you know how we’re going to defeat the Marad in just three days?”
“Not yet, but I came to help figure it out together.”
“I’m Gyzer,” says a guy with soulful eyes, a mournful voice, and coal-black skin. It’s early morning on Sagittarius, and while most of the students are still in their bed clothes, he’s one of the few who is already in his lavender uniform. “If you consider only what was within your control, where did you go wrong last time?”
“Accepting leadership,” I say without hesitation. I knew nothing of governance or war or politics. I wasn’t ready then—and I’m still not.
“Did you come here to help us or to get revenge?” asks the youngest in the group. She looks to be about fifteen. “I’m Ezra,” she adds, tossing back her hair, which is in hundreds of tiny braids.
After a beat, I admit, “Both.”
Once I’ve met everyone, they all take a seat while Nishi stays standing. “Okay, now that Rho is here, let’s launch into our progress report so we can bring her up to date.”
“What about the Libran? Has he returned?” asks Ezra.
“Not yet,” Nishi tells her. “And, guys, please hold on to all your questions for later. Updates first. Deke, you start.”
Deke springs to his feet and Waves a blue holographic diagram of the Capital into the air. “So far, the Marad has targeted the richest and most powerful parts of each House it’s attacked: Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius. Given that, and the fact that it’s threatened to leave Sagittarius with Guardian Brynda’s head, we can expect it to strike somewhere within this radius, right here in the Capital.” He enlarges the diagramso that we’re seeing only the sector most likely to be in danger.
Nishi’s Tracker beams out a red holographic overlay that lines up with Deke’s and adds a new layer to his diagram.
“Hysan taught me how to disable it,” she mutters under her breath, pouring each of us a glass of water.
I don’t know what to say. I want to yell at Nishi about family being too important to gamble with, and how this isn’t fair to her parents, and they’ll feel so awful if anything happens to her. But Nishi’s the smartest person in this room. She already knows everything I’m not saying, and she still made this decision.
My best friend is making sacrifices for this war, and I’d be a hypocrite if I didn’t understand why. I put my arm around her as she sits down beside me. “It must be hard lying to them.”
“It is,” she admits, her eyes downcast beneath her heavy black bangs. “But it makes it easier, knowing they’re safe. And anyway, with them gone, we were able to bring everyone together.” She looks up, her voice regaining its usual cheeriness. “So we can all be in one place.”
“You mean us and Hysan?”
“No, she means
everyone
,” says Deke. “Everyone willing to fight—whom we’ve been able to reach—is crashing the zillions of rooms here.”
Nishi nods. “Now you can address us all together, and we can train as a unit for whatever the Marad has planned.”
An uneasy feeling prickles my stomach, the start of a panic far worse than the kind I felt inside the cannon. I look from Nishi’s eager face to Deke’s determined one, and I flash back to the moment Rubidum nominated me to lead the armada. I came to Sagittarius to help—but Nishi and Deke asked me here to lead.
Before I can say anything, the swooshing sound of doors opening fills the air, and soon about fifty Acolytes are crowding the bright space. A flurry of dark faces and long-cut, wide eyes blur before me as I trade touches with each one. Like Nova on the flight over, they all ask questions after introducing themselves.
“Hi, I’m Mina. Do you still believe in Ophiuchus?”
“I do.”
“Thanks for coming. My name is Wynn. Do you think Ophius is involved with the Marad?”
“Yes.”
“Chan; nice to meet you. Do you know how we’re going to defeat the Marad in just three days?”
“Not yet, but I came to help figure it out together.”
“I’m Gyzer,” says a guy with soulful eyes, a mournful voice, and coal-black skin. It’s early morning on Sagittarius, and while most of the students are still in their bed clothes, he’s one of the few who is already in his lavender uniform. “If you consider only what was within your control, where did you go wrong last time?”
“Accepting leadership,” I say without hesitation. I knew nothing of governance or war or politics. I wasn’t ready then—and I’m still not.
“Did you come here to help us or to get revenge?” asks the youngest in the group. She looks to be about fifteen. “I’m Ezra,” she adds, tossing back her hair, which is in hundreds of tiny braids.
After a beat, I admit, “Both.”
Once I’ve met everyone, they all take a seat while Nishi stays standing. “Okay, now that Rho is here, let’s launch into our progress report so we can bring her up to date.”
“What about the Libran? Has he returned?” asks Ezra.
“Not yet,” Nishi tells her. “And, guys, please hold on to all your questions for later. Updates first. Deke, you start.”
Deke springs to his feet and Waves a blue holographic diagram of the Capital into the air. “So far, the Marad has targeted the richest and most powerful parts of each House it’s attacked: Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius. Given that, and the fact that it’s threatened to leave Sagittarius with Guardian Brynda’s head, we can expect it to strike somewhere within this radius, right here in the Capital.” He enlarges the diagramso that we’re seeing only the sector most likely to be in danger.
Nishi’s Tracker beams out a red holographic overlay that lines up with Deke’s and adds a new layer to his diagram.
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