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to
strain, “What happened?”
    Robert folded his arms across his chest. He
was the only one looking at me. “A rumor broke out about Henderson
a few hours ago,” he explained, telling me everything he knew about
the missing daughter. “We’ll have to stay low for a while. No one
leaves. Not until we figure out our next move.”
    “Next move?” I did not like the sound of his
words.
    When Robert didn’t respond, I looked to
Catelyn and Ami—even Niki—for answers, but everyone was as quiet as
the morning should’ve been. My heart pounded as the realization
sunk in.
    I stared at Robert. “You’re thinking of
escaping?”
    His frown deepened. “Nothing’s for certain
yet,” he said, emphasizing each word, “but we have to stay calm for
the kids.”
    “We can’t leave Vendona,” I almost screamed,
and Robert laid his hands on my shoulders to remind me to lower my
voice. I trembled. “We’ll only get killed if we try to leave.”
    “And what do you think will happen if we stay
here?” Niki asked.
    I opened my eyes to meet her red gaze,
bordering on a glare. I steadied myself, ready to fight her, but
Robert forced me to look at him. “Serena.” His voice was sharp, a
tone he rarely used with me, but his brown eyes were warmer than
usual. “I didn’t say that was the plan, okay?” He forced a smile,
and even though it was small, a shadow of a dimple appeared beneath
his freckles. “Just,” he sighed, the familiar expression
dissipating. “Encourage everyone to stay inside without warning
them about what’s happening. Okay?”
    “Okay.”
    I said it too quickly. I agreed too soon. And
Robert knew it. He froze, gripping my shoulders, and for a moment,
I swore I could feel his heartbeat through his hands. His eyes
searched mine, but eventually, he broke away and walked down the
hallway without another word.
    My eyes followed his back, but as he passed
Niki, she gained my attention. Her skin was paler than usual, like
she understood what Robert had said between the lines. I wasn’t
agreeing. And when she turned around to follow him, it was clear
that all the older kids had heard it in my tone. Ami stared at the
ceiling, and Steven shook his head back and forth. It was only when
I looked at Steven that I saw him—Justan—one of the younger ones,
listening in on a conversation he wasn’t supposed to hear. I was
about to say something when I heard a door click closed near me. I
followed the noise to Catelyn’s room. She’d left before I recalled
she was there.
    I turned away from Justan and the others to
follow my practical sister. I didn’t even knock. I entered her room
and found her throwing blankets into a bag.
    “What are you doing?” I asked.
    She didn’t stop. “I could take them,” she
ranted. “I could walk right through that gate, and I could—” Her
voice cracked as she glanced over. Briauna murmured in her sleep,
obviously disturbed by Catelyn’s speech, and Catelyn choked on the
fact that she almost woke up the girl.
    I grabbed Catelyn’s arm, but I went straight
through her. She had lost control, and there was no way I was going
to drag her out of the room, so instead, I started unpacking her
bag. “You can’t do that and you know it.”
    “I’m powerful,” she squeaked. “I—”
    “Not in this state,” I stopped her. “And you
can’t get everyone through. Maybe one, two people at most, but then
what? Where do you go next?” She was shaking, and I was tempted to
stop talking, but I knew I couldn’t. She needed to hear the truth.
“You can’t just manifest food or shelter.” We didn’t know much
about the world outside Vendona, and Vendona kept it that way for a
reason.
    “But something better has to be out
there—”
    “What if there is something worse out
there?”
    Catelyn was in tears now. “I don’t want to
die.” She’d already discounted any chance Henderson had at
winning.
    I pulled her into a hug. “You’re not going to
die,” I said,