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“I thought you’d be downstairs already.” Ivain’s voice was gruff, and he didn’t look up from the stack of paperwork in front of him—the inventory for the food supply, from what Skye could tell. “Did you finish the repairs on that Mechanica armor the ensigns pulled out ofstorage? Now that we have the tunnels sorted, that’s your priority.”

Skye approached the desk. “Uh… no. There was…” He shifted his weight from side-to-side, fumbling for words. “There was something I was hoping to speak to you about.”

Ivain still didn’t look up. “I’m listening. What is it you need?”

Skye took a breath, thankful that his voice sounded steady as he said, “Now that the Ebondrift refugees have gotten settled and the tunnels have been secured, my role here inside the city has become redundant. My brother is better suited to repairing the Mechanica, and Eula is overseeing the Gate Watchers and monitoring data collection for Aion. Going forward, I’d like to be reassigned to the search-and-rescue effort. I think I could do some good there.”

Ivain finally looked up. “You want to look for survivors?” he asked, frowning.

Skye nodded. “The preliminary census data indicates that 75% of the island population is still unaccounted for. And while I understand that we’re fighting an enemy capable of turning our own against us, I believe we owe it to the people of Tempris to try to recover as many individuals as possible.”

Ivain and Sarina shared a glance.

Ivain said, “Why do I get the feeling you’re only concerned about one individual in particular?”

Skye’s throat bobbed. “I won’t deny that I still hope to find Taly. Without a body, we can’t know anything for sure. However, I don’t believe that diminishes the validity of my overall goal.”

“Skye,” Sarina interjected softly. Her skirts hissed as she moved to refill her cup from a small tea service that had been left beside the desk. “We’ve already talked about this. As much we all want to believe that Taly is still out there, the overwhelming amount of evidence points to the contrary. Aiden’s locator spell—”

“Was inconclusive,” Skye said as calmly as he could manage. “It led him to Infinity’s Edge.”

“It led him to the place where Taly likely died,” Ivain said. Sarina’s breath hitched. His expression softened as though to say,I’m sorry.

“You don’t know that she’s dead,” Skye insisted.

“I do know,” Ivain said as he pushed himself to stand. He looked tired, worn around the edges, but his expression was stern. “I know because I’ve seen what shades are—what they can do. Taly was strong. Her actions at the relay proved that, and now thousands of people owe her their lives. But it’s been two weeks since that transmission, and during that time, not only was Aiden unable to find her, but he found her horse and her personal effects, all of which were covered in blood—fey, human, and shade alike.”

“The evidence is overwhelming.” Sarina took a sip of tea, the cup rattling as she placed it back in the saucer. “I know we used to joke that Taly was too stubborn to die, but a human in a forest full of dead men and magical beasts, all alone with no supplies… It really is an impossible situation.”

Skye made a small, disgusted noise in the back of his throat. “You’ve already given up,” he said lowly. “You’ve both given up on her, and you’re just going to leave her out there todiebased on an assumption.”

Ivain let out an uncharacteristic growl, but Sarina’s answering hiss had the old man backing down.

She turned. “Hold your tongue,Skylen.” And just that tone was enough to make him feel like a child again. “You’re not the only one grieving.”

But he couldn’t back down. He needed out of this city, and if subterfuge didn’t work, he’d use force instead. “You’re grieving someone that’s still alive.”

“And you know that how?” Ivain snapped.

Because I’ve seen her, Skye wanted to say, even if he knew he couldn’t. What he had witnessed down in those tunnels—it was too absurd, and they were already looking at him with concern.

“I just do,” he said, willing them to believe him. “She’s out there. I can feel it.”

A pause. Sarina and Ivain shared another glance.

“I know it’s a difficult reality to face,” Ivain said. The pity in his eyes made Skye want to hit something. “I really do. But my answer is no. If you’re unhappy with your duties, then I will reassign you, but I won’t let you throw your life away trying to find a corpse.”

Skye’s fists clenched at his sides. “With all due respect, I didn’t come here to ask for your permission. I’m going with the search-and-rescue parties. Telling you was merely a courtesy.”

“Please, Skye.” Sarina’s voice was soft and sad. “Don’t make this harder than it has to be. Be reasonable.”

“Iambeing reasonable,” Skye insisted, even if it felt like a lie. The resolve he’d felt so strongly the night before began to waver, so he clung tostubbornness and anger instead. “And I’m leaving first thing tomorrow with or without your blessing.”

“You know I can’t let you leave,” Ivain said far too calmly.

“Then you’re going to have to stake me to the ground,” Skye growled. “Unlike some, I still give a shit about the people I claim to care about.”

Skye turned to leave, but there was a sharp gust of wind accompanied by a spark of aether. Ivain was standing in front of him faster than he could blink, one hand gripped around his bicep.