Page 117 of The Alien in the Archive

I scramble for something, anything, to slow him down. “You’re making a mistake. Gambling your reputation on a wild accusation. If you take that to security and you’re wrong, how’s that going to look?”

He studies me for a moment, considering. I think I’ve bought myself half a second of hope, then he shakes his head.

“I’m going to assume you’re threatening me because you’re under the creature’s influence,” he murmurs. “But you can’t stop me from doing what’s right.”

Then he pulls the door open and leaves without another word.

Davina’s stayed silent this entire time, but I suddenly remember that she’s in the room. I turn and find her sitting at her desk, her hands clasped in front of her. She’s regarding me with…not anger, not disapproval.

Curiosity.

“Is he gone?” she asks.

I peek my head out of the door and see the top of his head disappearing on the lift.

“Yes,” I nod.

“Good,” she says, gesturing at the chair across her desk. “Let’s talk.”

I don’t sit at first. I purse my lips, jaw tense. “You got his letter.”

Davina motions to the chair again, her tone calm and even. “Sit down, Page.”

This time, I do as I’m told. My legs feel unsteady, like the panic in me hasn’t caught up to the shift in tone. Davina waits until I’m settled before speaking again.

“Yes…I received Thorne’s letter,” she says. “It was clear, detailed, and, to my surprise, handwritten. It was also very convincing.”

I grip the edges of the chair. “You didn’t say anything to Dr. Rhyss though?—”

“I needed time to look into it,” she cuts me off. “You understand how…unprecedented this is. A living Borean, in our library, who has not only survived but has chosen to preserve knowledge rather than destroy it? It’s something scholars like me have only dreamed of.”

She pauses, her sharp eyes locking onto mine. “It’s also something that would terrify the wrong people.”

I blink, my mind racing to keep up. “So, you believe him?”

“I didn’t at first,” she admits. “I assumed it was some kind of elaborate hoax. A forgery, maybe. But I followed the clues Thorne left in his letter—and I found records.”

“What records?” My voice comes out hoarse.

She leans back in her chair, steepling her fingers. “Nothing definitive—at least not about him specifically. But there were rumors, whispers about a Borean who vanishedbefore the Convergence reached its peak. An archivist. A dissenter.” Her lips curl faintly, like she’s uncovering a secret no one else knows. “The nameValtherisappeared once in an ancient catalog I retrieved from a restricted wing in the Turitella. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to make me take him seriously.”

My heart lurches. “So…what now?”

Davina’s gaze softens, just slightly. “Now, I help you.”

I blink. “You what?”

“I want to help you,” she repeats, her tone patient but firm. “If Thorne is what he says he is—a Borean dissenter who fled his people’s atrocities—then his testimony is invaluable. Not just to history, but to understanding the Convergence and what led to it…along with countless other changes in Borean society. I don’t want him locked in some security vault, Page. I want his knowledge preserved.”

A weight lifts from my chest. Thorne feels it too, the bond between us flickering with cautious hope.

But it’s not enough.

“Dr. Rhyss is already on his way to security,” I say quietly. “What happens when they come looking for Thorne? It’s only a matter of time.”

Davina tilts her head, regarding me carefully. “That’s where the two of you come in. If he’s willing to meet with me, I’ll help him make his case. We’ll bring this to the administration as carefully as possible, with the right framing.”

I nod slowly. “I’ll tell him.”

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