“My priority is you. Cormac has his own security team. In fact, he probably already left,” she says.

“But—”

Alixandra raises a finger and takes another com. “Priority one. Access Alpha Two.”

As she rattles off the security clearance, she turns away from the door and I see my chance. Before she can stop me, I duck back into the smoky room. A few people have collapsed on the floor, but other than that the room is deserted. The lingering haze stings my eyes, but I move forward, looking for Cormac, unsure whether I want to find him among those on the floor.

The cock of a gun stops me in my tracks. I raise my hands dramatically. “You found me,” I say to Alixandra.

“Turn around,” a male voice commands, and icy fear races through me. The man is wearing a gas mask and I can’t see his face. I can see the gun extended to my forehead, though.

As soon as I face him, his hold on the gun slips. Before he can say anything, Alixandra cracks him on the head with her weapon.

“C’mon.” She grabs me by the arm. “Are you trying to get killed?”

“He was lowering his gun,” I tell her, trying to work through the confusion I feel.

“It’s good to know that a group of armed mercenaries won’t shoot an innocent girl,” she says, dragging me out a back exit.

“No, it was more than that. It was like he wanted something from me.”

“He probably did, and it probably wasn’t anything pleasant,” Alixandra says. Outside, our transport screeches up and two officers in tactical vests rush out to help us into the back of the van. Alixandra shoves me inside before I can protest.

“Our orders are to escort Miss Lewys directly to Minister Patton’s private residence,” one of the guards tells us.

“Look at that, Adelice,” Alixandra mutters with a grim smile, “you’re going home.”

* * *

Cormac’s house sits on a hill overlooking the Cypress metro. It’s a concoction of glass and steel beams that jut out in strange ways. As we pull closer, I can see him through the window, pacing. The interior is bare. The click of our footsteps on the slate-tiled floors echoes in the large empty foyer, and the scent of bleach clings to the air, no doubt a side effect of keeping the home’s surfaces so gleaming, pristine. There are no pictures or artwork. No sign that the man who lives here has led an extraordinary life. Perhaps Cormac knows the meaninglessness of objects in a world where anything can be conjured. Or maybe he simply has nothing to cling to—even after two hundred years.

The officers march me past three different security doors. As soon as they deliver Alixandra and me, they leave.

“I’m fine,” I tell Cormac when he asks if I’m okay. “Don’t worry about me.”

“I knew Alixandra would get you out of there,” he says, almost apologizing.

“I went back, looking for you,” I accuse.

“Well, that was very stupid.”

“Don’t worry. I learned my lesson,” I say. “It won’t happen again.”

“And what were you doing letting her out of your sight?” He turns on Alixandra.

“She’s quick and she doesn’t listen,” she says.

I like to think this is the understatement of the year.

“What do you know about this attack?” he asks her.

“Security is sweeping the scene,” Alixandra informs him. “If revolutionaries managed to get in, I’d guess they have someone on the inside.”

“I’ll have to deactivate the personnel we used this evening.”

“Sir?” Alixandra visibly pales at his threat.

“Not you,” he roars. “I want you to check the reinforcements we installed there and double-check the Coventry—”

“I can assure you that the Coventry can’t be breached from the inside or the outside,” Alixandra interrupts him.

“Check again.” His tone is impatient.

Cormac gestures for me to take a seat and Alixandra leaves the room to make her calls. He hasn’t stopped pacing since I spotted him through the window. His bow tie hangs loose and he’s lost his jacket. It’s the most disheveled I’ve ever seen him. I have to admit he’s been through a lot this evening.

“We need to assume that was an assassination attempt,” Cormac tells me.

Yeah, I figured.

“But we don’t know their target,” he continues.

I stare at him. “I have a pretty good idea.”

“I’m not interested in jokes right now. This is serious,” he says.

“Pardon my delivery, then, but I am dead serious. You can’t possibly think they were after anyone but you.”

“They could have been after you,” Cormac says. “You’re a high-profile target now and your death would cause major upset among the population.”

I think back to the man in the gas mask. He was definitely lowering his gun. “They weren’t after me.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“If I were you I’d stay focused on how they got into the ballroom.” There was security everywhere. Cormac can no longer trust his own men.

“Alixandra and I will deal with those issues,” Cormac says. “It’s time to take decisive action.”

“The last time you took decisive action it cost Arras an entire sector,” I seethe.

“This time my action will be about unity,” he says, “not destruction.”