Stellan lets out a low laugh, soft enough that only those closest hear it. When I glance over, he’s looking between Seth and Theo like he just watched something click into place.
Zira closes the door, leans against it. Her grin disappears.
“First things first,” she says, eyes flicking to me. “You’re safe here. This place is owned by a Feeder named Mo—he’s been running this station for years. Helps people get through when the Council decides they don’t belong anymore.”
“Station,” Jace repeats, frowning.
“A network,” Thane says quietly. “Safe houses, routes. Gets Feeders out when the Council is after them.”
Zira nods. “And anyone else the Council wants gone. Mo’s good people. Known him forever.” She glances at Thane. “You probably know him too.”
Thane’s expression doesn’t change, but recognition flickers in his eyes.
“We came here because we knew you’d be safe,” Zira continues. “And because word’s been spreading.”
My stomach twists. “Word about what?”
“About you coming back.” Her gaze locks onto mine, steady and unflinching. “The real you. Not the fake.”
Riley.
The name sits heavy between us even though no one says it.
Zira pushes off the door, moving closer. “Bree, it’s bad. It’s real bad out there.” Her voice drops, losing the edge of humor she usually carries. “The Council’s cracking down harder than ever. Feeders are disappearing—some running, some getting caught. And the ones who stay? They’re terrified.”
I swallow hard, my hands curling into fists at my sides.
“They need help,” Zira says. “Real help. Not just someone to hide them or smuggle them through. They need someone who can stand up and say enough.”
“They need you,” Theo says quietly.
I flinch. “I don’t know if I—”
“Bree.” Zira steps closer. “You’ve been running this whole time. I get it. You’ve had to. But this?” She gestures toward the door. “This isn’t a story. This is your life. And theirs. And something needs to change.”
“I haven’t been running.” The words come out sharper than I mean them to. “I was lured. Then held captive.”
Zira blinks.
“We spent a year in the Void searching for her,” Thane says, voice flat. “We’ve been back only a few days.”
The room goes still.
Zira’s eyes widen. “Wait, a year? In the—” She stops. Swallows. “Who had you?”
“Ethos,” I say.
She gasps. Actually gasps, hand coming up to her mouth. “He’s real? He can’t be real.”
I frown. “What are you talking about?”
“Bree.” Zira’s voice drops, all the humor gone. “Ethos rules the mirror realm. He wears whatever face you’ll follow into the dark. He’s death himself.”
The words settle over the room and no one moves.
I swallow hard. “He had me for over a year.”
Zira goes pale. “A year. With him.”
