Page 348 of Heat of the Everflame

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he demanded.

“I didn’t trust the Sophos Crown. I was worried they were trying to use you to threaten me. They knew about you before I’d told anyone we were related.”

“A lot of people knew we were related. That doesn’t mean anything.”

“There were other reasons. I heard... rumors.” I scratched anxiously at the burning on my neck. “Mortals who come here go missing, Tel.The Sophos Descended run experiments on them, and no one ever hears from them again.”

His head slowly tilted. “Who told you that?”

“Henri. He said the Guardians have—”

His loud ripple of laughter cut me off. “What would Henri know about Sophos—what would any of the Guardians know? Do you know how hard it is for mortals to get in here? If you breathe too close to someone suspected of being a rebel, they ban you for life. They only let mein because Remis is good friends with Doriel. He begged them to make an exception.”

I frowned. I hadn’t knownthat—and it definitely didn’t ease my fears.

“The mortals here get paid so much, most of them send money back home to family,” Teller explained. “Thieves realizedthis and started targeting anyone with relatives in Sophos, so people here began to fake their deaths. Their loved ones know they’re safe, but everyone else from their home realm thinks they’re dead.”

“I... but... the experiments,” I stammered. “I confronted Doriel about mortals dying. They admitted it was true.”

“Those mortalsvolunteer. They want to do something useful with their lives, and they get paid a fortune to leave behind for their families. It’s a noble choice.”

I reared back. “A ‘noble choice’? They’re only desperate for that money because the Descended put them in poverty to begin with. They’re selling their lives away because it’s a better end than dying of hunger in some dirty Mortal City back alley. That’s not a choice, Tel, that’s a last resort. They’re exploiting desperate people, and there’s nothingnobleabout it.”

Teller’s mouth opened, then closed, a wrinkle forming across his brow as he thought on my words. “Maybe you’re right. But that doesn’t make the people here murderers.” I snorted in disagreement, and Teller’s face turned stern and scolding. “Everything isn’t so black and white, D. The results of those experiments save thousands of lives. And the money the mortals make here will keep their families out of poverty for generations. Yes, it is unfair. Theworldis unfair. The people here are just trying to do what good in it they can.”

Teller’s firm yet fair demeanor, his calm lack of judgment, his focus on whatwasand not whatshould be—it was all so very, very much like our father. Grief seemed to wrap its ruthless hand around my neck, choking my protests back.

Teller’s tone softened. “I’ve met a lot of mortals here, and they’re really happy. They’re treated well, and they’re proud of the work they do. And the Descended...” He smirked. “They’re eccentric, I admit. I’m not sure most of them have ever had anyfun that didn’t involve a book.” He cocked his head. “But they don’t seem like killers. They seem like good people.”

I slumped back against a desk as my resolve wobbled between condemnation and doubt. What did it mean to be agood personin a system built on such a fundamentalbad?Could the best intentions and noble ends ever justify reprehensible means?

“So you told Henri I’d been invited here, but not me?” Teller asked archly.

“Henri didn’t know,” I mumbled, still lost in my thoughts. “Only Remis and Lil—”

I stopped too late.

“Lilyknew?”

Shit.Shit shit shit.

Hurt flickered over his face, then anger, then resignation. He closed his eyes as his features pinched. “It doesn’t matter. We’re over now.”

I stood and gripped his shoulders. “Forget what Remis said. You and Lily should be together.”

“Remis might have had his own motives, but he wasn’t wrong. Lily and I were always doomed. At least now she can move on.” He sighed unhappily. “Even though I never will.”

“It doesn’t have to be like this. You two love each other. You—”

“Don’t,” he interrupted. “I made my choice, Diem. It’s over. Let it go.”

The air deflated out of me in a slow, sad exhale. I was far from done with this fight, but until it was safe for him to go home, there was no point trying to convince him.

Teller glared at me, though it was lacking all its bite. “I guess if you thought you were saving me from dying as a laboratory experiment, I’m required to forgive you.”

“I’ve been an awful sister. I don’t deserve your forgiveness.” I gave a sheepish half-smile. “Maybe you’ll take pity on me and give it anyway?”

He grunted. His irritated face saidabsolutely not, but I knew his peace-loving heart had already saidyes.

---