Erik’s hand flies to his mouth and I know he’s covering a smirk. I smack him on the shoulder. “Get serious.”

“I guess we know who wears the pants in this relationship,” Alixandra says.

“Why are you my best friend again?” he asks her.

“Wait! Alixandra? Alix?” I can’t control the volume of my voice.

“That took you long enough,” she says.

“But Alix is a boy,” I say, trying to work through this confusing turn of events. “Alix has to be a boy.”

“Why?” Erik asks.

“You g-g-grew up together and Alix w-w-works for the Guild,” I stammer out my answers in spurts of confusion. “What about segregation?”

“All those things are true,” Erik says, “but she’s still a girl.”

“You could have mentioned that,” I say, smacking him again.

“It didn’t occur to me.”

“Thank you. That’s very flattering, Erik,” Alix says.

From his seat, Jost props his feet on the table and watches us with a giant grin.

“You are enjoying this too much,” Erik says.

“Yes, I am,” Jost says, folding his hands behind his head. “I told you, Ad. Saxun doesn’t segregate. I married Rozenn the day she was released from testing.”

“There is an actual emergency,” Dante snaps, pushing Jost’s feet off the table. We all look to Alixandra and she pulls a digifile from her bag.

“Cormac has initiated final termination of this sector,” she says.

“Like, Protocol Three?” I ask.

“Protocol Three allows for evacuation before the sector is destroyed,” Jax says. “This isn’t Protocol Three.”

“But why now?” Erik asks. “He’s already infected half the population, there are no resources left. It’s only a matter of time.”

“He knows we’re here,” I say, looking to Alix for confirmation. She nods.

“He wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to destroy the Agenda,” Dante says in a grim voice.

“Does he know I’m here?” I ask, wondering if I can message Cormac. Maybe if he discovers I’m here, he’ll stay his order to terminate the sector.

“He knows,” Alix says. “I bought you as much time as possible before I had to get out myself.”

“I guess the wedding is off,” I say.

“Good. You can get rid of that ring,” Erik says, and I realize I’m still wearing it. I tug it off my finger and throw it across the room.

“What do we do?” I ask Dante, feeling lighter and ready to take on Cormac.

“We evacuate,” he says.

“But what about the citizens?” I ask. “Not everyone in the Eastern Sector is infected.”

“We don’t have time,” he says.

“Where will we go?” Jost asks. “Back to Earth? It won’t be long before it’s unstable there.”

He has a point. “It won’t do us any good to run,” I say. “If we waste time going back to Earth, Cormac will be more prepared than ever for our return. We have to ensure that the singularity can’t occur.”

“And how will we do that?” Falon asks.

And now I know that I can never save both worlds. I have to make a choice. This is what being the Whorl is truly about. I can’t hold both worlds together any longer, not as this one spins further out of my control.

“We have to initiate Protocol Three,” I say in a soft voice.

No one speaks for a moment, all of them digesting this idea while in the same instant realizing I’m admitting defeat. For those of us who have lived most of our lives in Arras it feels unbearable, but I take solace in the promise of Earth. If we can initiate Protocol Three and evacuate the citizens of Arras before this world begins to self-destruct, we can rebuild the planet we left behind.

“Don’t we have to get into the Northern Sector to do that?” Erik asks.

“I hate to interrupt, especially with bad news,” Alix says, waving her digifile. “I know you don’t have time to read this report, but Cormac has blocked communication between all sectors.”

“Even if we initiate Protocol Three—” Dante begins.

“The evacuation calls won’t go out,” Alix confirms.

“Then we have to find a way to evacuate the population.”

“It’s too late—” Falon is cut off by the entrance of Loricel.

“Cormac can’t be trusted. I’ve known him for hundreds of years, but his behavior shows signs of madness,” Loricel states in an imperial voice.

“He has to be stopped,” I say. “We can’t go back to Earth and come up with another plan. We can’t let him continue.”

“I agree,” Albert says, and everyone turns to him. “I created this world to put an end to violence, and while I struggle to see it come to violence now, I can’t deny that Cormac Patton has become a threat to the very existence of the human race.”

“So we agree,” Erik says, “but I’m still not sure how we’re even going to get into the Northern Sector.”

“Leave that to me,” Loricel says. “I got Adelice out. I can get you in.”

“We can’t all go,” I say.

“She’s right,” Dante agrees. “We need a group to get the word out to the resistance leaders in the other sectors about what’s happening. The ministers can initiate the evacuation procedures. All the protocols are in place for the ministers to open loopholes throughout Arras.”