Page 132 of The Art of Exiley

“Don’t forget, Kor is a Sire now. And they’ll have provincial weapons—guns.”

“The Avant Guard have been preparing for a provincial threat since their inception.”

I don’t like the sounds of that. “If the Guard succeed in overpowering Kor and whoever is with him, what will they do?” I ask.

“Muddling won’t work for anything beyond a matter of hours. These intruders know where we live and plan to poison our air and steal our holiest and most important texts? I don’t think the Guard will have much of a choice.”

“There’s always a choice.”

“Answer me this, Ada. What will your family do if they’re not stopped?”

“They’re not coming to harm you, just to take information. They have good intentions.”

“No matter their intentions, we need to defend ourselves. Is that not why you felt the need to warn me about all of this?”

Yes. But was warning him a mistake? Is he even right about the gas? Would letting Kor go in and out with possible minor casualties be better than causing a face-off with the Guard where there is guaranteed to be losses on both sides?

Horrible visions of the beautiful island smoking from the destruction of battle flash in my mind. Valkyries falling from the sky as they breathe in antimatter.

I don’t want any harm to come to Genesis. Or to Kor or Izzy’s brother.

Alfie can burn; I don’t care about him.

“We need to warn the Guard, but we can’t let them kill anyone,” I say.

“I can’t promise you that.”

“Rafe, I helped you save your cousin. Now help me save mine.” He doesn’t respond. “I can reason with Kor. I’m sure of it,” I plead. “I just need to stop them before they get there. He wants the scrolls, but he doesn’t want to cause unnecessary deaths.”

“But they’re already on their way. It’s too late,” Georgie says.

An idea, born of desperation, is forming in my mind. “Why does it have to be too late? We know they’re probably traveling through the Atlas tunnel, and we know where they’re headed.”

Her brows furrow. “And they have a significant head start.”

“But no maglev technology.”

“Neither do y—oh. Uh-uh. No way.” She shakes her head emphatically. “It’s way too far. And too dangerous.”

Rafe grits his teeth, and I know he’s caught on. “Ada, stop and think for a moment. What you’re considering is impossible. Do you know how long the journey is? How fast you would have to go to catch up to them?”

Fast, I can handle.

“It is the same technology, isn’t it?” I press.

He rakes a hand through his hair. “I mean, technically the hoverjoust pit uses the same form of maglev as the Atlas tunnels, but—”

“Great! Then I’ve made up my mind.”

“We can’t rely on your success. I’ll need to alert the Guard to be ready. The risk to our home is too great if you fail.”

“I agree. You should have a backup plan, but it’s not so simple. Kor is working directly with someone on the inside, and I don’t know who it is.” I’d asked Izzy if she knew anything about the new informant, but she didn’t. “I don’t know who we can trust.”

Rafe’s face is a storm. “How is that even possible? How are we hemorrhaging—” He looks skeptically at Georgie sitting next to him.

But I’m done with ever letting him doubt or speak ill of her.

“I trust her with my life,” I say.

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