She looked around at the small group and went on. “I can only assume that person is on the ship with Alex—or perhaps it is Alex—for no one so far has come to vouch for her honor in the days since the attack.” Her eyes landed on Sean, but she didn’t offer him up despite Mr. Appleblossom’s previous suspicions.

Carina’s knuckles turned white as she gripped the railing harder. “Because there isn’t anyone! I don’t believe her. She was lying. She must have been. I bet she lied about having to go to the Ancients Sector, too. She was Aaron’s little slave—he would never get rid of her.” She shook her head. “How could a woman—a mother—do such horrid things, and lie so complexly, so frequently, that she’d lose her own child’s devotion . . . ?” She trailed off and clutched at her heart now, as if it were being torn out. “For what purpose? Wasn’t giving me up at the Purge enough? Did she have to come back into my life, only to betray me a second time? What absolute heartlessness, which is just so typical of someone loyal to Quill! Is there any purpose great enough to cause someone to turn her back on her family for the sake of it?”

She turned and looked at the others, her eyes rimmed red. “Well?” she demanded. “Is there?”

Simber, Ms. Morning, Mr. Appleblossom, and Meghan had no answers. They could only reply to Carina’s tormented gaze with sympathetic eyes.

“I didn’t think so,” Carina muttered. “Her whole life was dedicated to hurting as many people as possible.” She looked up at the ceiling to contain her tears and sighed bitterly. “Excuse me. I need to get out of here. I need to see my son—someone I would never betray.”

Simber moved aside to clear a path for her escape. As she reached the door, a hoarse voice called out after her.

It was Sean.

“Carina,” he said, his breath labored. “Wait.”

Sean Shares a Secret

At the sound of Sean’s voice, Carina paused in the doorway to the hospital ward. She turned and looked at his bed, and saw that his eyes were open.

“You’re awake,” she breathed, and rushed past Ms. Morning, Meghan, Simber, and Mr. Appleblossom to Sean’s side. “Are you feeling any better?”

The others crowded around to see him, conscious for the first time since well before arriving in Artimé.

Meghan reached out and ruffled her brother’s hair. “He’s looking a little better, at least.”

“Yes, he is,” Carina said. “Sean, I’m so glad to see you awake. I was awfully worried. . . .”

He lifted a weak hand and Carina grasped it. They stared into each other’s eyes.

“Excuse me for a moment, Artimons,” Mr. Appleblossom said gently. “Carina, I shall go and find your son.”

“Oh, thank you, dear Mr. Appleblossom,” she said, offering him a half smile in spite of the tears that were still wet on her face. “Bring him here to me right away, will you? I miss him so.”

He nodded and slipped away without another word.

Carina turned back to Sean. “You’re feeling better, then?” she prompted.

“Yes, a bit better,” Sean said. His eyes remained half-closed and his speech was slower than usual, but the color was back in his face, and the near-constant grimace he’d worn since the ride around the world was gone.

“You should rest. Can you sleep? Were we talking too loudly? I’m sorry.”

He shook his head and gripped her hand tighter. “No, it’s okay. I have to tell you something,” he said. “I heard you all talking . . . about Eva.” His chin quivered. “I’m so sorry.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Carina said. “We can talk about it another time, when you’re well. I’m—I’m fine. Really. She means nothing to me.” She set her jaw. “She was an enemy of Artimé.”

Meghan watched her brother’s face carefully, and wondered. Had Mr. Appleblossom guessed right the day of the attack? Was Sean the one working with Eva? “I think he really just needs to say something,” Meghan said carefully. “Don’t you, Sean?”

Sean turned his head. His eyes connected with his sister’s, and she nodded encouragingly. He frowned, puzzled that she seemed to know something, but too tired to contemplate it. “Yes,” he said. He turned back to Carina. “Please. Let me explain.”

Carina glanced from Sean to Meghan, and back to Sean again. “All right, if you’re sure you’re feeling okay.”

He nodded. “Now that Eva’s gone, I-I feel like it’s my duty to defend her.”

Carina turned sharply back to Meghan. “Do you know what he’s talking about? Is he delirious?”

Meghan shrugged.

“Carina,” Haluki said in his fatherly voice, “let him speak.”

“Please,” Sean said. “I am—I was—your mother’s confidant.”

Carina’s lips parted in shock.

“It’s true,” Sean said. He struggled a little, and Meghan quickly slipped an extra pillow under his head and shoulders to prop him up. “Thanks,” he murmured. “I’d been meeting in secret with Eva since the rise of the Restorers, back when you were high priest, Gunnar.” He paused, breathing hard from the effort, and continued.

“Eva was a spy. She told me everything Aaron was doing. She’s the reason Aaron held off from fighting us all this time. The reason,” he said, taking several breaths, “we are not under attack right now.”