“It is,” Jost says. “It always will be.”

“Look after her.” The mother sounds calmer now, as though knowing Sebrina will be safe has given her enough peace to cope as she dies.

“Goodbye.” I leave the farewell lingering between us as Jost turns and takes his daughter from Erik. She doesn’t fight him. It’s as though she somehow knows he will care for her, even though she can’t remember him. Sometimes love survives everything, even the darkest hours.

TWENTY

ON DANTE’S ORDER, THE AGENDA MEMBERS LEFT at the Guild offices place the facility on lockdown as soon as we enter. As it’s a former Ministry complex, there are plenty of controls in place to ensure no one can get in or out without permission. But I can’t help feeling as though we’ve locked ourselves in a cage.

“Where’s Valery?” Jax asks as we enter the room.

Jost shoots him a warning look. Sebrina is in his arms, nearing sleep, but trying to keep her eyes open. I don’t blame her for wanting to see where she’s being taken.

“Do we have anything for her to eat?” Jost asks.

Jost refused to take the rations Sebrina’s adoptive father managed to bring home. He claimed they were unsafe. He might have been right, but I knew that he wanted to make sure Sebrina’s adoptive parents had food as well. Not one of us dared to tell him it was a pointless waste.

Jax manages to find some rations and the remains of a chocolate stash hidden in one of the ministers’ offices. Sebrina bites off the candy in huge chunks, sighing contentedly while the rest of us watch.

“I’m going to find her somewhere to sleep,” Jost tells us, gathering his daughter in his arms.

As I run my fingers along the glossy wood of the tabletop, I can’t help wondering about the important decisions officials made here. In Arras there are three more tables like this, all full of officials meeting to discuss the problems Arras faces. I wonder if I’m on the list today or if Cormac has managed to cover up my escape.

“Valery?” Jax prompts as soon as Jost leaves.

I shake my head. “We were attacked. She didn’t make it.”

“Attacked?”

“There’s something out there,” Erik whispers. “A disease or a virus.”

“A swarm,” I say, thinking of how it descended upon Valery, disappearing into her skin. “Valery sacrificed herself so we could escape. It works quickly. She was already infected before we could reach her.” Thinking back on the attack, I’m more certain than ever that we aren’t dealing with a natural phenomenon. The Guild is up to something.

“You’re sure you’re clean?” Jax asks. He doesn’t take a step back from us, but I sense that he wants to.

“Trust me,” Erik says. “You can see it. Plus, it infects quickly. By the time we saw the first victim, the woman’s skin was rotting off. She hardly looked human.”

“She reminded me of a Remnant,” I admit. I can’t get my last image of Valery out of my head, nor the words she whispered as we passed.

Valery and I had a trying relationship on Earth, but we had been friends once, in the way I had been friends with Enora, my mentor and her lover. We were kind to each other, helpful even, but neither of us truly shared who we were until it was too late. Standing here now, I realize we weren’t so very different. We both lost loved ones. Neither of us ran until it was too late. The only thing that separated us was my skill. It bought me time and chances I deserved no more than Valery.

“You say their skin was rotting off?” Jax asks as we find our places at a long conference table.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Erik tells him.

“I can’t believe she’s gone,” Jax tells me in a soft voice. “She wanted to make things right with you. We talked about Enora and what she could remember. I tried to help her reverse more of the alterations they’d done to her.”

“Were you successful?” I ask. Perhaps Valery’s legacy would live on in helping us save the Remnants or the people affected by this disease outside.

“A little. Altering in reverse is tricky.”

I think of Amie and how eager she is to remember our mutual past, despite having gone through multiple alterations.

“Whatever these things are,” Dante says, “they aren’t natural. They infect quickly. We encountered several infested people on our mission, all at varying stages, even the girl’s adoptive mother.”

“But the mother didn’t hurt you?” Jax asks.

“It doesn’t make any sense,” I say.

“The Guild considers it genetic warfare,” Albert says, settling into a seat across from me. “Why waste valuable material if it can be used to fight your enemy? A common pest becomes an ally in warfare, even something as simple as Tineola bisselliella.”

“What?” Erik asks.

“Tineola bisselliella—a common fabric moth,” Albert explains. “I’m afraid this is my fault. When we considered initial concerns regarding the Cypress Project—theoretical issues and such—we discussed whether certain species on Earth might negatively impact the artificial weave. I made a joke about fabric moths.”

“Do I want to know what a fabric moth is?” My stomach churns as the conversation recalls the memory of Valery’s final moments.

“An insect that eats away at fabric.”

“Let me guess. In this instance we’re the fabric?” I say.